Pillar of Strength – new version
by PrimesSPARROW
Summary: This is not mine, this is a gift from my sis; and it is a brand new updated version of PILLAR OF STRENGTH It is intact the full story, it not in chapters so I did not wish to break it up. It is how she wrote it, enjoy it I really did!


Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers, just for fun

Pillar of Strength – new version

Sam sighed softly, watching his friends' sleeping forms in the moonlight. Just a few weeks ago, they had the biggest battle any of them had ever seen, let alone been in, all for the fate of the world. Chicago was pretty much destroyed, several places in D.C. not that much better. Thanks to some strings pulled by Lennox and Mearing, the Autobots were now back in the base at the capitol, though several government officials put up a bitch fit about it. Sam had been tempted, even in pain and exhausted himself, to beat the crap out of them all. Lennox though had put the weasels in their places, temporarily anyway, but Sam was sure that they haven't heard the last of them.

His gaze grew sad at a stray memory, turning to watch the moon peak through some clouds, lost in thought. Carly had pulled him aside after one of the meetings. When she started to cry, he knew what she wanted to say and just pulled her into a hug, saying it was alright and he understood. She just couldn't stand being with someone involved in the same military that took her brother away. Before she left, she gave him a soft kiss and said that she hoped for happiness for him. Sam smiled and wished her luck on finding the one guy who would treat her like the goddess she was. He hadn't seen her since that day.

The brunette glanced around from his vantage point on a balcony. For the past two weeks, Ratchet had been working furiously, fixing up all the Autobots. The medic worked miracle after miracle, they all looked brand new, even Optimus did, despite having his arm torn off. And now he was taking a well deserved recharge along with everyone else. From being in pointless and boring meetings, to scouring the country for any remaining Decepticons, the Autobots and their human allies NEST, were just plain exhausted. Sam had pretty much ordered them all, and gotten a kick out of it, for them to take the day off and rest. He was very surprised when they all did it. They must have been dog-tired if they listened to any orders from him.

He let a small smile grace his face as he watched their sleeping forms twitch every once in a while. Even with their busy schedule, they had made sure that at least one Autobot was with Sam the whole time (he hated this though, when it was Optimus' turn and he had to sit through a boring ass meeting). When he asked why they did this, the reply was the same, no matter which Autobot he had asked. 'You mean more to us than you realize, we almost lost you. We're not going to make the same mistake again.' Even the new arrivals, Prowl, Sunstreaker, Hound, Trailbreaker and Kup took their turns happily and without any complaint.

Sam shook his head at the memory, still unable to grasp the fact that he meant that much. A silly little human that occasionally came in handy, but more often than not a burden, mean something like that to the Autobots? He cared a great deal about them all to the point of seeing them as family, but he honestly didn't think that they cared like that in return, maybe except Bumblebee. But that was more as best friend than anything.

Sam's gaze grew sad though at the absence of several Autobots. He gave a mental growl at the now deceased Sentinel at the death of Ironhide and at Soundwave for the death of Wheeljack. Sam frowned again when he remembered Arcee, Flare-up and Chromia, and before them Jazz. Though they didn't often show emotion around humans, Sam was different. He saw, more than once, each Autobot pause in whatever they were doing and get a far-off lost look. The same kind of look someone gets when they're just overwhelmed by memories of something or someone. He wished he could do something for his friends.

The human was startled out of his reverie at a sudden, blue light. Thinking one of the Bots had woken up, he looked around to see which one it was, to better prepare for his excuse (it never hurt to be prepared around Ratchet. That Bot had been on his case since day one of all this about his health). He was surprised to see the glow come from Optimus' chest plates, which opened gently, not even stirring the sleeping Prime. The glow slowly floated up and then started towards him. As it got closer, Sam saw it was the Matrix of Leadership.

Sam stared at the delicate Cybertronian artifact for a moment, while it just glowed serenely, like it had all the time in the world. He hadn't touched it since he slammed it into Optimus' spark at the Battle of Egypt, and was afraid it would turn to dust like the last time he grabbed it. The Matrix seemed to sense his hesitation and floated closer, glowing a little brighter. A feeling of calm and peace filled Sam, who sighed good-naturedly. He should have figured, if something alien wants something from him, it will find a way to get it. He grabbed the Matrix out of the air; it glowed brighter at his touch. He was surprised when he wasn't transported into the realm of the Dynasty of Primes, like he expected. Sam stared at the Matrix, which gave off a feeling of content, like it was where it wanted to be.

"How do I know that you'll cause me grief in the near future?" Sam murmured to it, giving a wry grin. The Matrix just pulsed once. "Uh huh…and what am I supposed to do now?" Sam asked, feeling a little silly for talking to the dagger-like object he held. A feeling deep in his heart, he guessed maybe even his soul, started to form, wanting him to leave the hanger. Rolling his eyes, Sam decided to follow it. "If I get caught, I'm blaming you." Sam groused, the Matrix pulsed quickly yet softly. Sam guessed the Matrix was laughing at him. "You know you're crazy when inanimate objects start to laugh at you." Sam muttered to himself, walking outside the hanger. He didn't see a small camera flicker in the dim light as he walked by, nor did he hear the sounds of slowly waking Transformers.

Daybreak was close, if the lightening sky was anything to go by. Sam just walked down the empty pathways, not even seeing a guard on duty. "Every sane person must be asleep." Sam reasoned, mock-glaring at the Matrix. "And I'm looking for what?" He asked it. In reply, the urge in his soul got stronger, pulling him to a certain spot. A sad feeling filled Sam as he recognized the area he was now in, the same area where Ironhide fell. All that was left was a black and rust-colored stain on the ground, nothing else remained.

"Okay…I'm here. Now what?" Sam asked the Matrix in his hand. It started to glow a bright blue, just like the optics of the Autobots. Knowledge filled Sam's head, making him gasp in shock and then grin in happiness. Nodding, Sam closed his eyes and concentrated, focusing his will into the Matrix. The intricate object gently floated from his hold to over several feet above him. It started to spin quickly, going fast and faster until it was no more than a sliver and blue blur. The wind picked up around Sam, who still held his hands in the air and had his eyes closed, focusing on nothing but his connection to the Matrix of Leadership. He didn't see several dust clouds condense and start to take shape, the dust itself coming from both near and far away. He didn't see them gain a form, gain color. Sam didn't see the rebirth of Jazz, Arcee, Chromia, Flare-up, Ironhide and Wheeljack, though he did feel it, inside of him.

"Now…" Sam breathed. The Matrix paused in its spinning, before shooting blue lights into the chests of the Autobots. Sam heard their bodies start to work again, heard them waking up from being in the Well of Sparks. Sam opened his eyes and smiled softly, the Matrix once more in his hands, watching his formerly dead friends come back to the living.

"Boy, you're coming with us."

Sam whirled around, nearly jumping out of his skin in shock. Standing there were about two dozen men in black uniforms, one guy in front in just a plain business suit. Though to Sam he reeked of 'government power.' Sam watched warily as they surrounded him, paying no attention to the slowly waking Autobots.

_'Too slowly if you ask me.'_ He mused to himself.

"We saw in that hanger before. Saw that dagger thing float to you and respond to what you were saying. And we saw what you just did. You have a strange power, one that we want to…'study'. You're going to come with us." The guy in front said. His thugs brought out large looking guns, Sam saw that they were similar to the freezing gun S7 had used on Bumblebee when they caught him and took him to the Hoover Dam.

"Yeah? And what if I don't want to go?" Sam said, praying that the Bots would wake up in time. They were almost there…

"Then we're authorized to do this. Get him!"

Several things happened in the span of a few seconds.

The thugs charged up their guns and fired a strange black energy wave at Sam.

Sam held his hands over his head to try to block against whatever was coming at him.

Several voices yelled his name; the Bots behind him had finally woken up while the rest had ran out of the hanger towards him.

And finally, the Matrix glowed an angry blue light, before engulfing itself and Sam in said light.

When everything finally calmed down, everyone was looking at the spot where Sam stood.

In the dawn light of the new day, Samuel James Witwicky wasn't there.

_'Man, that the hell hit me?'_ Sam thought blearily. Shifting in place, Sam took a mental tally of any injuries he may have gotten. Besides being disoriented, he felt fine, though there was something poking him in his side. Slowly opening his eyes and glancing down, he saw the Matrix wedged half-way under him.

Sitting, and then standing up with Matrix in hand, Sam looked around for the first time. He knew that he couldn't be on Earth anymore, simply because at all the metal surrounding him. Everything was made of different types of metal, his surroundings stretched as far as he could see and further still. It was also huge, he felt like a tiny ant compared to some of the structures around him. Though strange to him, Sam thought it suited the place perfectly.

"Am I on Cybertron?" Sam mused to himself, finally looking up. "Nope, I'm not." He stated. Instead of an endless galaxy over head, the sky was a multitude of colors that warped and shifted endlessly. While beautiful to watch, it made him, for some reason, feel very small. He glanced down at the Matrix in his hand, it still glowed a bright blue. "Why do I have the feeling that this is your fault?"

"You would be right Samuel." A deep voice said. It reminded him of Optimus' voice, calming and soothing, but more timeless in tone.

Whirling around, Sam gapped at what had to be the biggest Transformer he had ever seen. Optimus or Megatron would only come up to this guy's ankle he was so damn tall. The unfamiliar Transformer had soft silver optics, and looked like a cross between what Optimus looked like and one of the ancient Primes, his color scheme being white and silver, the white being tinted different colors because of the shifting sky. Very slowly and gently, he lowered a massive hand that could hold a battleship from Earth down to Sam, a staircase forming on the edge. Stunned, Sam climbed up and walked to the center of the other's hand (which took a few minutes). He was brought up to face level.

"I admit I am impressed with your bravery and your response little one." The stranger said a smile in his voice. "Normally, when one is confronted with me, they faint, kneel down, or try to fight me. Not that the last does much good."

Sam quickly closed his mouth, not wanting to be rude to the giant Transformer that currently held him. "How do you know my name? Who…"

The stranger chuckled, Sam had to struggle to keep from falling over from the vibrations. "I know many things Samuel. As for who am I, I think you know."

Sam was about to say that he had never seen the other before, when the Matrix pulsed in his hand. He glanced at it, before slowly turning back to the other being, eyes slowing widening in realization. "You're…you're Primus." Sam breathed out.

The being full out laughed, Sam falling over this time from the vibrations. "I knew you could do it. Yes, I am the one known as Primus, though I do go by several other names."

_'I just met the god of the Cybertronians.'_ Sam thought dazed. He gave a mental smirk. _'Well, I can cross that off my list of 'Things-to-do-before-I-die-Again'._

"Indeed you can Samuel."

Sam blinked, "You can read my thoughts?"

Primus nodded, "Yes. Here, nothing is hidden from me. Though I will try to keep from your more private thoughts."

The human nodded, satisfied that the other would do his best to keep his word. "Thank you. Now, could you tell me why I'm here? Last thing I remember was these goons shot something at me, then this bright light."

Primus shuttered his optics, the Cybertronian equivalent of blinking, before answering. "Yes, you were attacked. Those beams would have destroyed you, very painfully I might add. The Matrix sensed its bearer in danger and did the only thing it could, by taking you away from there."

Sam waved his hands, the Matrix flying out of his hold only to start hovering near him. "Hold on! What do you mean 'bearer?' And why did it take me here?"

Primus smiled, "Yes, you are the bearer of the Matrix of Leadership, along with the one called Optimus Prime. Kinda comes with the title. As for taking you here, I'm not sure. Maybe the Matrix believed you would only be safe here, maybe it wants something from us, maybe it just wanted you to complete your list. Who knows?"

Sam chuckled at the last bit, before frowning again. "What do you mean 'comes with the title?'"

The omnipotent being seemed a little shocked, "You mean you don't know?" He continued in a softer tone, seemingly to speak to himself. "I shouldn't be so surprised; it's likely they haven't seen the signs. Or if they have they just chalked them up to anomalies with you, being a human and all…but they still should have seen the symbol…"

"Um, Primus? Could you run that by me in English please?" Sam joked, though a little worried.

The giant being actually jumped a bit, shaking the planet they were on. "My apologies little one, my processor ran away with me." Primus said, truly sounding sorry.

"It's alright, but could you explain what you were talking about?"

"Yes, of course. As you know, the Matrix of Leadership can only be earned. What you and the others probably didn't know is that when it is earned by someone, that someone is given a certain title. The title of Prime. When the Matrix was lost ages ago, the All-spark essence did this."

Sam's jaw nearly hit the floor of the planet, despite being hundreds of feet in the air. "Prime? Me?"

"Yes." Primus said. A holoform of Primus blinked into existence, about the size of Bumblebee. Very gently, he brushed a finger on the side of Sam's face. In the reflection of Primus' armor, Sam could see a strange symbol glow bluish white before fading to a dull gray. "This is the symbol I was referring to. It seemed as if the Matrix hadn't had a chance to activate it. This is the symbol of a Prime, etched into their armor the second they are chosen."

Sam brushed his fingers against the mark, feeling only the slightest of raised edges on it, his eyes far off. He then shrugged and dropped his hand.

"You surprise me again Samuel. I expected a much different reaction from this news." Primus said, sounding amused and puzzled.

The brunette shrugged. "After everything I've been through lately, my new motto is 'Just go with it, it'll work out.' No point in freaking out over it, just wastes energy. Besides, it looks like a cool tattoo."

Primus smiled again, "I believe that everything will work out fine between us."

"That's good, wouldn't want an all-powerful being pissed off at me." Sam joked again. He looked around. "So uh…where are we? And when can I return to Earth?"

"We are in my world, home, realm, whatever you want to call it. It is between a fold in time, meaning that time flows very differently here compared to other dimensions. As for returning to Earth, the Matrix was the one who did that and only it can return you."

Sam watched the artifact float around almost happily, doing a couple of flips and turns in mid-air. "And that would be when?"

Primus looked almost sheepish. "Well, getting here took a considerable amount of energy. And before that you had resurrected several Autobots. The Matrix's energy reserves are almost gone, though it is starting to fill up again. I'm guessing it'll be about a year, maybe more, before you can leave."

The Matrix pulsed several times in seemingly random patterns. Primus had a frown on his face, which quite frankly, scared the hell out of Sam. "I see….Samuel. Something is going to happen in your universe, something that you need to be prepared for."

Though worried, Sam nodded. "For my friends, my family and my world, I'll die again if I have too."

"Good answer, though I hope it doesn't come to that. You boy are very interesting to watch." Primus said. The Matrix pulsed again, before vanishing. "It said that it was going to find someplace quiet here to recharge its energy, so your training is up to me. While I can't send you back to your own dimension because the Matrix brought you here first, I can send you somewhere else temporarily and then bring you back. Would you like to train with me first, and then go? Or vice versa?"

Sam sat down Indian-style. "What things would I be training in?"

Primus slightly jarred Sam while his holoform sat down, mirroring Sam's pose. "With me, I would be helping you control the All-spark that still remains in you, so you won't get overwhelmed when it decides to share something with you. I would also teach you how to harness its power for a multitude of things. Along with that some battle tactics, weapons and physical training, and politics, pretty much everything a Prime would need to know. I would also teach you how to combine with your new partner as well as control your new abilities when they show up."

"New partner? What new partner? And what abilities?" Sam asked eagerly.

Primus chuckled. "Second question first, your new abilities would mainly center on the psychic abilities you will develop, it could be telekinesis, seer abilities, who knows. Your dimension's Optimus Prime, since he was Primed by the All-spark and not the Matrix, didn't get a psychic ability. I'm not sure what else will manifest in you, simply because there has never been a human Prime before. As for your first question I'll explain that soon." Primus smirked.

Sam just rolled his eyes at the Cybertronian god. "Okay, so what would I be learning in this other dimension?"

"How to fight with and against other Transformers basically, but really that's up to you. Whatever you want to learn there, just do it. If it interests you, find someone to teach you about it." Primus said simply.

Sam nodded, trying to absorb all the information given to him. "Wait…what do you mean about the first bit?"

"Fighting with and against other Transformers?" Primus chuckled. "Did you really think that your dimension is the only one to have Cybertronians?"

"Right, stupid question." Sam said, shaking his head. "And I would get how long to train with both groups?"

"At least a year with me, because of the amount of things that I need to teach you. For the other dimension it'll be at most a year, but most likely less than that. That should be enough time for the Matrix to recharge itself."

"Alright, I have a feeling I'll need your training first." Sam said, almost dreading what the other could come up with.

Primus laughed, "Don't worry boy, you'll be fine. We begin your training tomorrow." Overhead, the swirling colors had dimmed to darker versions of themselves, showing 'night' had arrived. Primus pointed to a building a short walk away, the perfect size for humans. "Everything you need to survive here is in there. I will see you tomorrow. Oh, here." Primus handed a small capsule to Sam. "Throw that when you're on the ground. Have a good rest, you'll need it." With that, the deity put him on the ground before fading out of existence.

"Wow, talk about an exit." Sam mused. He stared at the little capsule in his hand. "Let's find out what you do." Tossing the little capsule, he started to cough as it exploded in a puff of smoke with a flash of light that blinded the human. When he finally got his sight back, his jaw dropped at what was in its place. A beautiful gold and silver motorcycle, it just screamed 'Speed!' He jumped though, when it flashed its headlights twice at him.

"Okay, that's weird. Are you a Transformer?" Sam asked, running his hand over the space between the handle bars of the motorcycle.

He jumped again, when Primus' holoform showed up with a sheepish look. "I forgot to explain about the capsule didn't I? This is your partner I told you about. And no, it isn't a Transformer, it technically isn't even alive. Though it is sentient, so treat it with respect. It will respond to your call and if you press a button on it, it will return to its capsule form. I'll explain more about it tomorrow."

Before Primus could leave, Sam asked, "Wait, could you at least tell me what kind of motorcycle it is?"

"Oh yes, it is a NCR M16 style of bike. I also suggest you give it a name, can't go calling it 'it' all the time. Have a good night little one." Primus said, vanishing again.

"Let's get to the house, and then we'll work on a name." Sam said, getting on the bike. The second he sat on it, knowledge flooded his brain. He now knew how to ride a motorcycle like a pro and he couldn't wait to really test out its speed.

Within a minute, the teen were at his new home. It was just a one-story house made of metal, but it seemed pretty cozy. After exploring for a bit, he found out the house really did have everything he would need. A huge master bedroom with its own bathroom, a living room with all kinds of entertainment (he nearly drooled at the giant TV with every game system sitting in front of it) a kitchen packed with food, a laundry room, and finally what he dubbed a workout room. Thankfully, everything inside the house wasn't made of metal, he couldn't imagine having to sleep on a metal bed or sitting on metal chairs for the next year. Meeting back in the living room, Sam sat down on the couch and stared at the bike. He could swear that it was staring back at him.

"Alright, now, let's figure out a name for you." Sam said, staring at his bike. A moment later, Sam's eyes lit up. "I got it. What do you think of Blitz?" The human laughed when the bike did a wheelie in the living room before flashing its lights a few times. "Blitz it is then. Come on, let's get some dinner then head to bed." After fixing a quick meal, Sam headed to his bedroom and slept peacefully.

He was unaware of the eyes watching him. "I think this will work out nicely. Now, to prepare a training regimen of DOOM!" Primus cackled, fading out of sight.

Don't you just feel sorry for Sam?

_Beep beep beep beep be-CRASH_

Sam just glared at what remained of his alarm clock for daring to wake him up that early. His eyes widened though when it repaired itself. "There's something you don't see every day." He said, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

After quickly showering and having breakfast, Sam headed outside where Blitz was waiting for him with a note taped to a bar.

"What's this?" Sam asked, grabbing the note.

_'Sam,_

_I thought this would be a good bonding experience for you two if you rode together. So every day I will send my coordinates to Blitz, who will take you there. Enjoy the sights and the ride, because your doom training schedule starts when you get here._

_Primus'_

"Why do I get the feeling I will be crawling home in pain after today?" Sam mused. Shrugging, his got on his bike and the two rode off. The trip was only ten minutes long, but Sam enjoyed every moment of it. Racing by at over 200 mph, wind blowing through his hair as he saw the surreal scenery pass by, the only thing that could have made it better was if the Autobots were with him. This reminded Sam to at some point, ask about the time difference between here and there.

It ended all too soon when Blitz beeped at him and slowed to a stop. Standing by a table with a few chairs was Primus holoform.

"Well, I'll see you later Blitz." Sam said. The bike beeped twice and raced off.

"I trust you had a good rest Sam?" Primus inquired.

"Yes I did. I'm glad you didn't make the bed out of metal, that wouldn't have been very comfortable at all." Sam laughed. "So, what's up for today?"

Primus gestured for Sam to take a seat. "I will be placing you on a type of schedule, one that you will follow until you leave this world. Every day, when you get here, you will do whatever exercises I assign you, followed by a cool down. Afterwards I'll have you studying something, be it history, strategy, medical, whatever I feel you need to know. I'll also be working with you on controlling the All-spark in you. After a few hours of this we'll have a sparing match, during which I will teach you a fighting technique, you will fight this way until you master it and then I'll teach you a new one. We'll break for lunch, then more studying with a hands-on approach. For example, if we happen to be studying something medical related that day, I will create a holoform and have it affected with whatever you were just reading about. You will have to repair it. Lastly, we'll work on your surfacing abilities, whenever they do show up, and then you will return to your home for the night."

Sam just sat there, gapping. "Are you sure we'll be able to do all of this in one day?"

Primus nodded, smirking. "Yes, day and night here are different, daytime is much longer. I feel after all this is over, you will hate me with every fiber of your being. Also, once we master your abilities, which should be in the first couple months, we'll work on battling with your partner."

The deity just laughed at the glaring Sam gave him. "You truly are evil, you know that Primus?"

"Yup, all in a day's work for me." Primus grinned. It faded though, and turned to concern. "There is something else…"

"What? You're going to teach me to fly without wings?" Sam asked.

"No, though that would be fun to try. It seems the Matrix will also slowly be reworking your body."

The human slowly blinked, "Okay…how?"

"Well, it will change your physical structure. From what I understand, you'll be faster, stronger, and more durable than a normal human. You won't be super strong or anything, but things that normal humans would have difficulty with, lifting a heavy weight or running a long distance, will seem easy to you. And with the All-spark in your mind, you'll also be smarter."

Sam thought for a moment, "As long as I don't have to wear colored spandex, I'm good with a little more muscle." The world shook with Primus' laughter.

"I like you more and more little one. Now, let's begin…"

*Time skip, six months*

The past half-year had been good to Sam. Primus' training, while difficult, became easier after a while, thanks to what the Matrix was doing to his body. He now had an athlete's body, not too lean, nor was he bulky with muscle. All of Primus' physical training Sam passed with leaps and bounds, greatly pleasing the giant mech. He had a proficient knowledge in three different styles of martial arts, gaining experience equal to a black-belt master, but there was still more to learn. And, thanks to the All-spark messing with his head, he was able to retain information a lot easier now. It also increased his problem-solving capabilities, so the mental demands of his trainer were met with ease and gusto. While he wasn't up to say, Ratchet's medical prowess, Ironhide's weapon handling or Prowl's tactical mind, he would be able to help them and more.

His bonding with Blitz and Primus had also improved by leaps and bounds. Because of spending so much time with his partner, he now understood what the bike was saying, even if it was just still just beeps and whistles to others. He suspected that either the Matrix or the All-spark, perhaps both, had helped with this, but he wasn't complaining. The two were as close as best friends, like he was with Bumblebee. As for Primus, the two thought of each other as family, Sam with a grandfather, Primus with a favorite grandson (because hey, he was WAY too freaking old to be a dad to anyone).

Like usual Sam rode out to wherever Primus had picked for their training spot. The mech seemed to have a thing for long distances because it was usually on the other side of the planet somewhere. But thanks to Blitz, they were never late.

Primus smiled when Sam walked up, Blitz rolling at his side. "Hello little one. I've decided that today we're going to focus on combining with your partner."

"Cool, I had been wondering what the heck you meant when you said that the first time." Sam said with a grin.

"Indeed. Now, as you are, you would be able to defend yourself for a short time against a Decepticon. But you wouldn't be able to take on any more than one, nor would you be able to beat one. There are exceptions, for example if you were to fight a Con around Frenzy's size, or if the Con was already injured. What we are going to do is even the playing field."

Seeing he had Sam's attention, Primus continued. "Combining with Blitz, you would be able to take on several Cons and win. You won't become a true Transformer; it'll be more like a robotic suit that you take over."

"Kinda like Gundams or something?" Sam questioned.

Primus stared off into the distance. To Sam it looked like when the Autobots were surfing the web to check out a human reference. "Yes, that would be a good comparison. Let's try it out. I want you to place a hand on Blitz and concentrate on coming together. After a while of this, you won't even have to concentrate, it'll become second nature, but you must be touching or else it won't work."

Sam nodded and did as told. He centered himself, focusing on Blitz's life-force, or whatever the bike had, and focused on it and his own merging. After a few minutes, he felt it. Opening his eyes, he saw the motorcycle shift and change, not unlike when a Transformer goes from alt-mode to bipedal-mode. Going on instinct, Sam jumped up into the changing machinery, feeling something connect to him in different areas of his body. Soon, he was encased in a cocoon of metal.

It was a very strange thing to Sam, he felt two sensations, his own human body and that of the robotic one. He glanced around, noticing right off the bat he was taller and his sight and hearing was much sharper. Sam walked around for a bit, getting used to his new body. "Wow, this is really weird." He said, noticing his voice having a robotic undertone to it.

"Yes, it will be the first few times. But soon it won't bother you at all." Primus said. Sam turned around and saw that he was now just a head shorter than the holoform. "Here, take a look." The deity conjured a giant mirror for Sam to view himself.

The bot that stared at Sam in the mirror was unlike any Transformer he had seen, it almost looked like a cross between Bumblebee and Arcee, though leaning towards Bee's more masculine form but he had Arcee's more human-like face. _'Thank goodness for that, I think I would have died of embarrassment if I looked like a femme in this form. I'm male, thank you very much.'_ Sam thought, forgetting that Primus could hear him. The elder snickered but said nothing, letting the other continue looking. Sam's armor was mainly gold with silver stripes going down his arms and legs, the tires from the bike on his back. He was also pleased to see bright blue optics staring at him.

"Now, let's see what weapons you got. Eventually, you'll be able to activate them at will, but for now, let Blitz help you out. In this form, you two will be able to communicate through emotions and pictures. Since Blitz is unable to speak, that's all you can do." Primus said.

Nodding, Sam sent a mental thought towards his partner, inquiry about weapons. Feeling a nudge, Sam just went with his instincts again. Raising his arms, they both turned into cannons, and when he fired them off into the distance, they created a nice explosion. Blitz sent him some info about them; with a little focus he could adjust the strength of the blast. On each shoulder a smaller gun appeared, acting like a shot-gun or a machine gun, depending on his need. Sam figured out that all he needed to do was focus and those guns aimed and fired themselves. He also found out that they could be detached and used as hand-guns if need be.

"Good, you have the standard Transformer weapons down." Primus said, pleased. "Now, each Transformer always has a weapon all their own, like Jolt with his electro whips or Prowl with his shurikens. What do you have?"

Frowning, Sam sent an inquiry to Blitz, who sent the image of what he could do. Grinning widely, Sam produced his weapon. Clapping his hand together, he pulled them apart, a glowing blue chain made of energy formed between his hands. While one hand held the chain coiled up, the other let it sag towards the ground, where an energon dagger the size of a human appeared, barely grazing the ground. Thanks to Blitz's knowledge, Sam knew how to wield the weapon without cutting something on his body off.

Primus closely examined the weapon, "Very interesting, I've never seen anything like this in our world…the chain seems to be able to adjust its length with merely a thought…unbreakable as well so it could be used as a makeshift shield in a pinch…the dagger is a work of art, sharper and harder than diamonds on your old world…I would guess it would severely damage any enemy you attack with it, if not just cutting off their limbs."

Sam nodded, swinging the weapon around in a hypnotic twirl, "Yeah, Blitz says that I can adjust the sharpness of the dagger as well, so I don't always slice and dice my enemies. He also said that it was similar to an old ninja weapon from my world called Kyoketsu-shoge, though it's been updated a bit."

"It's a deadly weapon, you'll be very formidable once you learn to master it. Since I don't know anything about the weapon, Blitz will have to be your instructor." Primus said. "Now, we're going to work on separating then combining again until it becomes second nature to you. In order to separate, merely focus on your life-forces becoming two again."

Sam let his weapon vanish in orbs of light before doing as ordered. More quickly than what it took to combine, Sam and Blitz were now standing side-by-side. The human though, shook his head, "Man, that was a weird sensation. I got so used to have these double feelings, that just having one again messed with me."

"I imagine it would, now combine again." Primus said.

The rest of the day was focused first on Sam and Blitz combining until they could do it in a few seconds before separating again with no side-effects on Sam. It took a few hours, but they managed to do it. Afterwards the time was spent fighting Primus' holoform, using either hand-to-hand, guns and cannons, or Sam's new weapon, which he dubbed DAW. When Primus asked what that stood for, Sam grinned and replied 'Deadly Ass Weapon.' Primus just shook his head and laughed.

And that's how the rest of the year went, training in his combined. He also started working on his new abilities, which involved cloaking in combined mode and telekinetic shields as human. It got to the point that not even Primus could detect him cloaked and he had trouble breaking through the semi-transparent blue shield. Sam had managed to figure out how to move and project it, being able to shield an ally from a distance or cover several allies at once. While cloaking didn't tire him out, shielding for a long period of time did so he had to be careful.

His lessons progressed very well. Weapons, tactics, everything Primus taught him he mastered, though he knew that those with millennia of experience could probably kick his ass. But when he used DAW in a fight, he would give any Transformer a run for their money.

The Matrix had also had its fun with his body, finally finishing the changes it wanted. He could now be dubbed 'almost super-human' in terms of physical capabilities. There was no way he would be able to stop a speeding bullet without his shield power…well he could do it _once_ but he wasn't keen on doing that any time soon. Primus had also said that the changes included Sam's need for sleep, food and air. He now needed very little sleep to survive, same with food, though Sam was warned that if he went too long without sleep, he would sleep for days mostly, as for that he would pass out if he went too long without eating. Breathing was only a habit with him now; he didn't need air to survive.

Finally the year came full circle.

Sam walked out of his home for the last time wearing a dull gold T-shirt, a silver jacket half-way zipped over that, jeans, and sneakers. Across his back was a black knap-sack filled with some clothes, Blitz safely in capsule form in his pocket. His hair, for some reason, hadn't grown at all and had begun to get metallic silver highlights over the past year, but he thought it looked cool so he didn't put up a big fuss about it. Primus met him right outside his door, silver optics gazing sadly at his favorite human.

"Well, this is it. I've taught you all I can with the time I've been given." Primus said.

"And I appreciate every second of it, even though you were a slave driver." Sam joked, hugging the holoform tightly.

"Trust your instincts; they'll never lead you wrong. You'll return here when the time limit is up, at most a year from now, possibly a lot sooner. And try to have some fun little one, as well as try to stay out of trouble." The deity said, poking the other in the shoulder.

"Well…two out of three isn't that bad." Sam said, smirking. "After all, I'm an alien bad-news magnet."

Primus just rolled his optics, "I know. That's what got me worried. Anyway, before I forget, you'll find a surprise about Blitz in the new dimension at some point, so don't freak out. I'll see you later Samuel." He raised a servo over Sam, who was engulfed in a bright white light, before vanishing all together.

"Stay safe my grandson…" Primus said fading out of existence.

It seemed like one second he blinked, the next Sam was in another place entirely. Shaking his head to clear the daze, Sam quickly scanned his surroundings. He immediately saw he was in space _'Thank you Matrix for saving my aft with the not-needing-air thing'_ He thought . He was on a huge, silvery-white, sleek looking space ship. Sam was pleased and yet surprised to see a big red Autobot insignia in different areas of the ship. Since he was on the very top of the ship, he looked behind him and saw the Earth, about the size of a marble from where he was.

Glancing down below Sam saw a gathering of sorts on the ship. Quietly making his way to the side and leaning down, he saw several Autobots and five humans in advanced looking spacesuits with what looked like tiny Transformers beside them. While he didn't recognize several of the Autobots, one stood out from the rest, he seemed to be giving a speech or something. "Optimus…." Sam said smiling. Using his new sharper sight, he noticed something was off about them all. "They all look weird…almost like a cartoon…" He glanced at his hand. "I do too…man this is going to be a weird year."

Sam jumped though when these bright green light-beams surrounded the ship. He was about to freak out when he looked down at the group, seeing that they weren't running around or anything. Deciding that they weren't a threat, Sam tried to figure out how he could introduce himself. After all, how could he explain about a human that didn't need air had snuck onto their ship in the first place?

The brunette frowned though when the waves of green light around the ship started to waver, almost like they were agitated or frightened. Sam gapped when what looked like a black hole sparking electricity appeared in front of the ship, making the lights fly away. Down below he could see Optimus ordering everyone to get inside and them running, trying to outrun the suction of the electric black hole. He saw one mech with blue armor grab one of the humans, a dark-skinned teen it looked like whom was being sucked up, and saved him and telling him to run. But before the mech could get to safety he was pulled up into in the air. A yellow and red mech ran to try to grab and help the other, but they were pulled in as well.

Feeling his gut telling him something stupid, Sam jumped into the air towards the black hole, throwing Blitz's capsule and combining right before being sucked in with the two Autobots.

Groaning, Sam woke up on an unknown planet. Standing up he checked it out. "Weird…the earth is salt and these trees are metal. What could survive in a place like this?" Sam mused, running a robotic hand over a tree. Just then, faint explosions echoed across the barren land. "Nothing good I bet. Let's see what's causing all the commotion." Activating his cloaking mode, Sam sprinted across the land, the only indication he was there was the salt cloud that erupted behind him.

Slowly down, he walked to the edge of a small cliff overlooking a battle site. The two Autobots were there, though for some reason they had new paint jobs, along with Optimus, who looked different as well, but not just paint job. It was like he was reformatted or something. Three other Transformers were staring at them, well more like glaring. Zeroing on them he saw the Decepticon insignia on them.

"Well, it's a stand-off." Sam mused quietly. The ground between the six Transformers started to shake, causing them all to struggle for their balance. Sam's optics widened when a giant black Transformer burst out of the ground, red optics glowing malevolently. "Wow…he kinda looks like Optimus." Sam said. The six Transformers decided that the giant evil Optimus was more of a threat and started to attack it together. But the clone Optimus seemed to have the ability to regenerate as well as above-normal strength, even for a Transformer.

"Man, there is no stopping Nemesis!" The yellow and red Bot yelled. _'So big-ugly's name is Nemesis? Suits him._' Sam thought.

"Keep firing you pathetic Autobot!" A large red and purple Con with horns yelled, firing a large cannon-like gun.

"I bet a million dollars that's this dimension's Megatron." Sam mused. "He looks a lot better than the one from mine, I wonder if I could get Primus to switch them?" His optics widened again when he saw Nemesis bring out a big energy sword that glowed an angry red and take a swipe at the blue and white Bot that had been knocked to the ground, intending to cut the other in half.

Acting fast, Sam brought out his weapon and leapt into the air. Swinging the chain around in a wide but precise arc, he sliced off Nemesis' arm from the shoulder down. It and the sword sort of melted from sight while Nemesis jumped back, alarmed. Sam landed near the group.

"What the heck was that?" The mech on the ground said.

He was helped up by the yellow and red one. "Whatever it was, it saved your life Red Alert."

"Hot Shot, Red Alert, are you alright?" Optimus asked, walking over to them. It seemed with Sam's attack Nemesis was taking a short breather, though he could see his arm slowly growing back.

_'That take care of their names, what about the Cons?'_ Sam thought, glancing over at them. Megatron seemed to be yelling at them. _'Typical Megatron…huh Starscream and Demolisher? Weird, this Screamer looks better than the other one too. I think I will ask Primus to switch them.' _Sam thought again.

"What saved me anyway?" Red Alert said, looking around.

"That would be me." Sam said, deactivating his cloaking. His sudden voice and appearance shocked the group. He snickered when a few of them actually jumped. "But we can save the introductions later, seems Nemesis over there is nearly done regenerating." Everyone glanced back to see his words were true. The dark Transformer was almost done, only a hand left.

"Whose side are you on soldier?" Optimus asked, not seeing any insignia on Sam.

"Yours Optimus, always yours and the Autobots." Sam answered, intently watching Nemesis. "Let's save story time for later, here he comes." Nemesis was done and started to charge at them.

"Oh enough of this." Megatron said pompously, raising his cannon/gun thing again. He fired off a huge blast, completely engulfing Nemesis. When the blast finally stopped, everyone was shocked when Nemesis was still standing there, looking worse for wear. They could see he was starting to regenerate.

"Keep firing everyone. Blast him into nothingness!" Optimus said, firing his guns.

Heeding his advice, all the Transformers started to fire their own weapons, obliterating different parts of Nemesis, but the guy just keep regenerating.

"This is getting nowhere fast." Sam said. He switched to his DAW and started to slice off different parts of Nemesis the second they grew, giving a chance for the others to regroup. That's when Sam noticed something. "He's tiring; he's not regenerating as fast as before."

Nemesis, having only one arm and leg and completely banged up, jumped back and activated a switch on himself causing his optics to start to flash.

"He's set off a self-destruct!" Red Alert warned. "Scanning explosion capabilities….he'll destroy this whole planet with that!"

"Decepticons, retreat." Megatron ordered.

"Megatron, you can't just leave us!" Hot Shot said, outraged.

"It's Galvatron, and yes, I can." Megatron, now Galvatron, sneered before warping out with his men.

"Optimus to Axalon, do you read." Optimus said urgently into his comm. "We need an immediate ground-bridge up for four."

It seemed that the countdown was finished, for Nemesis' optics flashed once more before being engulfed in a rapidly growing fireball. Right before it could destroy them, the Autobots and Sam were transported off the planet.

"Wow…what a ride…" Sam said, shaking his head. He saw a servos appear in his vision. Looking up he saw it was Red Alert. "Thanks," He said, taking the offered help.

"No problem." He said, helping the other to his feet. "Come on, Optimus went ahead with Hot Shot to tell the others about our new arrival and said he wants you to go to the main deck for 'story time' as you called it."

Sam just grinned, "He's in a good mood then. Lead the way." Red Alert just shook his head, a faint smile on his face. Walking out of the bridge room, the two mechs walked down hallway after hallway, Red Alert being kind enough to explain what rooms were what and so on. Soon, they reached the command center. On the giant screen at the front they could see space slowly pass by, even though they had to several hundred miles an hour. Optimus was already there, along with what Sam guessed was all the Autobots on board. The five humans he saw before, now seeing that they were teenagers, four being boys the last a girl, were standing there with the tiny Transformers. Sam could see several more around the room, at least one with each Bot, some had more.

"Welcome my friend to the command center of the ship Axalon." Red Alert said, announcing their presence. Everyone turned their attention on the duo. Sam felt like he was the new kid in school. He raised his hand and gave a short wave.

"Hello. Introductions first I think. You seem to know who I am." Optimus said, walking forward. "This is my Mini-Con partner Sparkplug." He gestured to the tiny Transformer, now known to Sam as a Mini-Con on his shoulder. "Allow my men to introduce themselves, along with our human friends."

"Name's Jetfire, second-in-command. And my partner is Comettor." _'Night and day compared to the other Jetfire.'_ Sam thought with nostalgia.

"I'm Hot Shot, my partner here is Jolt." Young, eager, full of teenage energy. Sam liked him already and predicted many pranks in the future.

"Red Alert, Autobot Medic. My partner is Longarm." Sam compared him to Ratchet, and thought that Red Alert was a lot more laid back than the 'Hatchet'.

"My name is Hoist, my partner's is Liftor." Sam got the feeling this guy was like the Twins back home, at least prankster wise.

"Scavenger's my name, my Mini-Con's is Rollbar." This dude gave off war-veteran air to Sam. He figured don't tick this guy off.

"I'm Blurr and my partner is Incinerator." He kinda reminded Sam of Sideswipe's personality from his dimension.

"Hi, I'm Sideswipe." _'Speak of the devil.'_ Sam thought. "And Nightbeat is my Mini-Con partner." He seemed very energetic to Sam. He figured he was the youngest out of all of them like Bumblebee was back home.

Sam kneeled down to be more level with the humans, unconsciously mirroring what the Optimus of his dimension always did when talking to him or other humans. The other Autobots noticed this and were surprised at his actions though Optimus was also pleased.

A blonde, blue eyed teen went first. He gave off the air of being the unofficial leader of the humans. "I'm Rad and High Wire is my partner and friend."

"Carlos, Grindor is my amigo!" The dark-skinned human that Red Alert saved before went next.

The only girl on the teen went after him. "My name is Alexis, and Sureshock is my partner." Sam got the feeling she wasn't the one to cross as well as a mother-hen when the need called for it.

"I'm Billy." A freckled, brown haired human went. "I don't have a Mini-Con partner, but it's cool."

"I'm Fred." A portly, dark-haired teen went last. "I don't have one either. But High Wire, Grindor and Sureshock make up for that a million times over."

Sam nodded, smiling. "It's a pleasure to meet you all. I go by two names I guess, at least in this form I could."

"'This form?'" Optimus echoed curiously. "What do you mean?"

The other laughed lightly, "This." He said simply and separated from Blitz. He almost fell over laughing when everyone around him stumbled in their shock, Sideswipe actually falling over in surprise. "My name is Sam, and this is Blitz. I guess in my combined form I could be called Blitz too, at least it sounds like a Transformer name."

Optimus recovered first, "Please explain. How did you do that? How did you get on that planet? Not that we're ungrateful for your help but it is surprising."

Sam nodded and was about to explain when something happened. Everyone turned to Blitz who started to beep quickly. "What's up Blitz?" Sam's jaw dropped his bike transformed into a Mini-Con, looking like a mini-version of Primus. "Blitz? Since when can you do that?" Blitz beeped, whirled and whistled for a moment. "Oh yeah, Primus did say something about a surprise. So is this permanent?" Beep, burr, tweet. "No? Just for this dimension. Okay. Can we still combine while you're in this form?" Beep beep. "Sweet." Sam, realizing he had been ignoring the others, turned back to them with a sheepish look. "Uh…yeah. I'd better start that story time I promised you."

And so he talked, for over three hours he told them a run-down version of his story, about how he was from another dimension, how he met the Autobots, his three world-saving adventures with them, a brief explanation of his time with Primus, and how he ended up here. The group made a good audience, all sitting down around the room, watching with rapt attention. At certain parts, they laughed, cried, growled, and raged on Sam's behalf.

"And that's it in a nutshell. I was sent here to learn and to help you guys out." Sam finished, sitting down on the floor with the other humans.

"You have done much in such a short time." Jetfire noted.

"I guess." Sam shrugged. "So what are you guys doing out here? And what are Mini-Cons anyway?"

Taking turns, everyone explained their own story. How the humans found the Mini-Cons, different battles (Sam was shocked that Starscream became an Autobot at one point and befriended the humans), and what led up to the point where they were heading back to Cybertron. They went on to explain about the Mini-Cons and what the war here was about. They also named the Decepticons they were most likely going to encounter so that Sam should be aware.

"And that's our story." Optimus finally finished. He noticed the teens, with the exception of Sam, were yawning. "Let's regroup tomorrow; we've all had a very busy day. Rad, will you show Sam where he may sleep? Extra rooms were designed on the Axalon for emergencies."

"Sure thing Optimus. Come on guys, let's hit the hay." The teens bid the Bots goodnight and walked out the door, four Mini-Cons following them.

"That human is special." Red Alert noticed. "I get the feeling the war just tipped in our favor."

"Yeah, but there's also something else." Sideswipe said.

"The feeling that we need to protect him at all costs, like with the kids even though we just met him?" Hot Shot said with a smirk.

"Bingo."

"It's possible that the bonds our counterparts have with Sam leaked over to us." Optimus theorized. "Or possibly the bonds developed during his telling of his story. We may never know for sure."

"It'll work out in time. No use worrying over it." Scavenger said, attention on the computer. "Sir, because of the after-shocks from that planet being destroyed, the warp drive was damaged and we don't have the necessary supplies to repair it."

"So how long will it take to get to Cybertron now?" Hoist asked.

"Well, thankfully all of our engines escaped being damaged. If they run at full capacity unhindered, we'll reach Cybertron in about four to six months." Scavenger replied.

"Alright, let's get some recharge men. Set the computer for auto-pilot." Optimus ordered. "Rest well everyone. I get the feeling we'll need it soon."

The next morning, or whatever it is you would call it in space, Sam was up bright and early, as always. "I blame Primus for that." He groaned, fully awake. The human decided to take a walk around the ship before doing his exercises. Sam admired the detail and thought put into it, the Axalon was designed for human/Autobot interaction on all levels, so there was no place the two species couldn't meet for something.

Finally finding the door he wanted, Sam walked out onto the deck of the ship, enjoying seeing the galaxies pass by, seeing star clusters, star dust, and everything in between scattered everywhere. "Now there's a sight you'll never see on Earth, so many stars…" Sam had his breath taken away by the sheer beauty of the universe, just watching it for a moment in silence. After gazing at it, Sam decided to get to work and started on his exercises. Primus had instructed him the importance of maintaining his form with them, plus it had just become habit after a year.

*Inside the Axalon*

"Good morning everyone." Alexis said, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, Sureshock beside her. She was the last one up, everyone else was already at the table, well the Bots were. A small table had been placed on top of theirs for the humans. Hot Shot gently lifted her and the Mini-Con up.

"Morning Alexis, what do you want for breakfast?" The speedster asked, placing her down.

"Waffles sound good…." She glanced around. "Where's Sam and Blitz?"

"I don't know, I went by his room earlier to wake him, but they weren't there." Rad said, taking a drink.

Jetfire shrugged, "I wouldn't worry about it too much, maybe the boy got up early, already ate, and is now exploring."

Optimus nodded, satisfied with that answer. "Alright, I'm sure we'll see him sometime soon."

"Hey Optimus, can we open the viewing window thingy?" Carlos asked. "Space is so cool to see, you never see so many stars on Earth."

"I don't see why not. Sideswipe, would you open the window please?"

"Sure thing." The young Bot pressed a quick button on the wall nearest him. The metal of the ship seemed to melt away, leaving a thick glass wall in its place and a sweeping view of the ship and the galaxy beyond it. They admired the view for a few minutes, when something caught Sideswipe's optics. "Huh? What's that?"

"What's what?" Red Alert asked.

"There…on the deck." Everyone gathered around the glass to try to see better, the kids and Mini-Cons on various Bots shoulders.

"That looks like Sam, but what's he doing?" Scavenger asked. Sam was doing strange motions with his body.

"Those are katas; different forms of martial arts use them, a fighting technique on Earth." Fred explained, having taken a few classes when he was a kid, but never got very far. "He's very good from what I can see."

"But whose suit did he take?" Hoist asked. "Those were specifically designed for their wearer." Rad paled and his eyes grew wide. "Rad? What's got you spooked?"

"He's not wearing a suit, look at his head."

Everyone stared closer and saw what Rad saw, the brunette human was out on the ship's deck…in outer space…with no suit whatsoever for air or protection. So…they did the only logical thing.

They freaked out.

*With Sam*

"Huh? Blitz, do you hear something?" Sam asked, stopping his katas and turning to his partner. Blitz scanned the area for whatever disturbed his human, before zeroing on the source. Snickering, which sounded like radical beeps, he pointed behind Sam. The human turned and saw all the Autobots, humans, and Mini-Cons waving their arms frantically and looked like they were yelling.

"What's up with them?" Sam asked, tilting his head. It wasn't until Rad pointed to his head and then at Sam did the later understood. And promptly began laughing hysterically. "Oh man, I completely forgot. Come on Blitz; let's go tell them about my little changes. Maybe I should have told them yesterday." His partner transformed and Sam rode back through the deck door, the group at the window running to meet him.

The second Sam walked through the pressure doors he was in Red Alert's servos with a million and one questions coming at him from all directions. "Guys… Guys… GUYS!" That shut them up. "I'm fine, really. Put me down Red Alert."

"It's impossible. You should be dead." A pale Alexis said, giving Sam a tight hug. The other teens each came forward and put a hand on Sam to assure themselves that the other was really there. The Autobots surrounded the group of humans, their optics focused on the one in the middle.

"It's alright. I don't need air to survive. Though you're doing a pretty good job of trying to prove that statement false." Sam wheezed out, crushed by the strength of the hug. The teens quickly backed up to give Sam some space.

"Please explain Sam." Red Alert said, running scan after scan on the human.

"Alright, just stop scanning me. I hate it when Ratchet does that back home. Anyway, do you guys remember me telling you about the Matrix?" Multiple nods. "Well, it decided to have some fun reconstructing my body. I'm now faster, stronger, smarter, and more durable that normal humans. I also don't need air, and require little food and rest to survive. I'm sorry I didn't tell you yesterday, but it completely slipped my mind." Sam explained.

"Fascinating…are you sure I can't…" Red Alert trailed off, looking hopeful. Almost like a giant, metal puppy.

Sam gave a dramatic sigh, "Tell you what, I come by once a week to the med-bay for a check-up and let you do whatever you want, if you promise not to scan me without permission. Deal?"

"Deal!" The medic seemed overjoyed with this. "When can you come by first?"

Sam thought about it for a moment. "Morning's best for me, because of my schedule and everything, right after breakfast, or before, whichever works."

"Excellent."

"Well, now that the drama's over." Jetfire smirked. "What should we do? We won't arrive at Cybertron for several months."

"Well, I'm gonna train, that's one of the reasons I came here in the first place." Sam stated, leaning against Blitz's bike form.

"Hey, what martial arts were you doing out there anyway?" Billy asked.

"Tai chi, it's the first one I mastered. Why?"

"Would you be willing to teach us?" Carlos asked. "It would help with boredom, plus keep us fit."

Sam looked stumped and turned to Optimus. "What do you think?"

"I think it's a good idea to teach the children this. And afterwards, you could come to one of us for training or lessons, whatever it is we can teach you."

"And you'll have to spar with us in your combined form lad." Scavenger said, optics glinting. "It'd be good to fight someone like you."

Sam laughed, "You got it Scavenger."

And so time passed for those on the Axalon. Thanks to Sam's training, the teens were in better shape than ever, which would help in the long run. Though it would take them much longer to master the martial arts he instructed them in, because they didn't have a Matrix messing with them, they were all still progressing very well.

Sam's time with Red Alert was beneficial to both of them. Not only did the medic get to scan and study Sam, he was able to converse with the other in medical things that his comrades never took an interest in. Sam for his part, learned a great deal from the greatest Autobot medic of this dimension.

He also spent a lot of time with each of the other Autobots. He had a great time learning from Hot Shot, Sideswipe and Hoist, the three unofficial pranksters of the group, though the later two more than the first. The group had a great laugh when they managed to somehow, get everyone covered in a purple goop they created. When everyone saw each other, they laughed too hard to stay angry, though Optimus did make them clean it up afterwards, as well as forbade them from creating anything like that again.

His time with Blurr and Scavenger was mainly dedicated to sparing, but the three would often sit down and share stories of their battles as well as swap tactics. Sam surprised the two occasionally with an idea or two for scenarios they thought up for different circumstances. Every time he did they would complement the teen, causing him to turn cherry red much to their enjoyment.

Since there wasn't really anything an Aerial Bot could teach someone who couldn't fly, Jetfire would just take Sam for flights around the surrounding area of the ship, telling stories about the different constellations that he grew up with, but were truly alien to Sam. Turns out the mech was a great astrologer and historian.

Training with Optimus was great too. After teaching Sam his own signature attack (which didn't have a name, so Sam started to dub it the atom beam) the two would sit and talk for hours about anything and everything. Sam learned a great deal of history about the Transformers as whole, before the war, while Optimus learned about his and the others counterparts as well as the other dimension.

Lastly, Sam made sure to spend time with all the Mini-Cons. Thanks to combining with Blitz so many times, he was able to understand them all. He treated them not as weapons or slaves, but as Transformers and friends. Albeit tiny Transformers, but Transformers nonetheless. This endeared him to them and they promised each other that they would always watch out for Sam.

After five, almost six months aboard the Axalon, they finally arrived. The humans gathered at their first look of the planet. Though several explosions rang out across the planet's surface, scattered around and some of the landscape was battle-scarred, the metal world was truly breathtaking. It felt particularly special to Sam, whose own dimension's Cybertron had been destroyed at the Battle of Chicago, when Sentinel's portal-ray blew up the planet.

"Welcome my friends, to Cybertron." Optimus said softly before giving the orders to land.

*Three months later*

The war was still going on, unfortunately for the Autobots. The group that was on the Axalon was now in a war meeting with a few other Autobots, trying to figure out how to end the fighting. Sam just sat back quietly, watching different plans brought forth only to be shot down by a flaw in it.

At first, several Autobots were skeptical about a human joining them on the battle field, but Sam very quickly won himself a reputation as a fierce and respectable warrior by both Autobots and Decepticons. He had also won the respect of the Bots for his strategies as well as his medical prowess, _'thank you Primus'_. Sideswipe jokingly said one day to him that a lot of them thought of Sam as the unofficial third-in-command, to which Sam blushed brilliantly and stuttered his denial.

The other humans, while not warriors like he was, had gained respect as well for their help in the medical field. Sam had taken them all to the side and gave them lessons in the same things Primus taught him, making them specialize with either different injuries or specific areas of a Transformers body. More than once, each of them has saved a spark from being extinguished. Red Alert was just happy for the help.

Speaking of the kids, Sam glanced around. Usually, they were near Hot Shot nowadays for protection, but he didn't see them anywhere. Quietly excusing himself, Sam walked out of the war room and walked around the base. Quickly searching each of their usual haunts, he was starting to get worried when he still couldn't find them. He was about to go tell Optimus when he got a ping on his comm. Activating it, he mentally snickered at his first reaction when that happened, running around screaming about the voices in his head. Thank Primus it was on the Axalon and not here, or he would be trapped in the med-bay. The others reaction had been hilarious, falling over each other as they explained what had happened.

:::Sam here:::Sam said.

:::Sam!::: Rad's voice practically screamed over the comm link. He sounded panicky, but not like he was in danger.

:::Rad? What is it?::::

:::The Mini-Cons!...Unicron's cells and the moon….everyone dead and time-travel...:::Rad seemed to be trying to force everything out at once, because nothing made sense.

::::Rad! You must calm down:::: Sam ordered sternly. ::::Take a deep breath, then explain what you were saying, cause all I got was a bunch of jumbled words.

He heard Rad take a deep breath, as well as murmuring of the other teens in the back ground along with the sounds of the Mini-Cons talking. :::Thanks.::::

:::You're welcome, now start from the beginning. Where did you guys go?::::

:::We went down into these passageways down here cause I kept getting a feeling we needed to.:::: Rad started. ::::When we got down there, High Wire did something weird, and we were all transported into this weird timeline. Sam…all the Bots and Cons were here, but they were all dead! Hot Shot didn't recognize us, but he kept talking about the Mini-Cons and 'never seeing it coming.' Then, we were transported back in time, like way back to the creation of the Mini-Cons. Sam, they're Unicron's cells! They're part of him.::: Rad seemed frantic by this point. :::We managed to get High Wire and the others to recognize us and then were taken back here. Then there was this cave-in, Starscream saved us and then started chasing Sideways.:::

::::Okay Rad, I believe you. You get your afts back up here on the double, but be careful. Now, tell me more about Unicron, I've never heard of him before.::::

:::Neither did we, but the Mini-Cons told us stories about him, more like nightmares. Most don't believe he exists anymore or if he even existed in the first place. He's called the Planet Destroyer, think of a Transformer the size of a planet or a-:::

:::Moon.::: Sam said, realizing part of what Rad had jumbled out before. ::: Unicron is Cybertron's moon. But why hasn't he attacked? Why just sit there like that?::::

:::The stories answered that too.:::: Rad replied. :::Apparently, Unicron got into this huge battle with someone, they're not sure who. Anyway, the battle completely drained Unicron of power and he had to go to sleep. But he couldn't recharge himself so he has agents getting what he needs to come back online.::::

:::Sideways has to be one of them, that jerk has double-crossed everyone around here, even Galvatron.::: Sam growled. ::::What does Unicron need to come back online?::::

"Three very special weapons." Rad's voice came from behind him.

Sam whirled around, de-combining in a heartbeat. "Dang, you scared the scrap out of me." His brain caught up to what Rad said. "The Star Saber, the Skyboom Shield, and the Requiem Blaster. You mean those are the keys to waking up Unicron?"

"Yeah, though there's a problem already. The Shield and Blaster are already on Unicron. Thrust stole them from Galvatron, though he still has the Saber. On the plus side it showed Thrust as a traitor."

Sam ran a hand through his hair. "Let's go, we've got to tell Optimus about this." He started at a jog back towards the war room, knowing the other would still be there. The others were at his heels.

"Do you think he'll believe us?" Alexis asked worriedly.

"I know he will. He knows that none of us would lie about something like this, plus it would explain about the Mini-Cons and about Sideways." Sam replied, throwing open the meeting room's door with enough force to slam it, sometimes he didn't know his own strength. It startled all of the Bots, making them activate their weapons at what they thought was a threat.

"Sam! Kids, what's wrong?" Optimus asked, after getting everyone calmed down.

"Optimus, have we got a surprise for you." Sam started grimly.

The Prime sighed, "Am I going to like or hate this surprise?"

"Hate with a passion." Rad replied before launching into the tail that he had just told Sam, though with a lot more detail. Every Transformer sat in rapt silence, listening to the humans explain what had happened to them and they believe was happening. More silence filled the room when they were done.

"Well…." Red Alert started.

"We are in deep slag." Hot Shot said simply.

Optimus looked troubled, "We have to warn Galvatron. We need to protect the Saber from getting in Sideways' servo as well as needing to team up against Unicron."

"You do that Optimus, while I take control of the time-space continuum, cure the common cold, and figure out the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything. It'll be just as easy." Sam said with a serious look on his face.

Silence.

"We are in very deep slag." Hot Shot said again.

*Time skip, a few days later*

"What do you mean he's gone?" Carlos asked, surprised.

"Just what I said, Optimus is gone. He went to try to convince Galvatron about Unicron, since Hot Shot couldn't." Jetfire said.

"You do realize that Galvatron won't listen and will fight, right?" Billy asked, eye-brow raised.

"Yes….but Optimus is hoping the other will listen to reason." The SIC said, shifting in place.

No one noticed a certain human turned Transformer run out the base, thanks to his cloaking mode. "Man, Optimus is a moron for doing this." Sam thought, running over the landscape. Thankfully, he had picked up Optimus' signal and was able to trace him. He deactivated his cloaking mode and walked over a pile of scrap metal and saw three Transformers. Optimus was fighting Galvatron, trying to tell the other about Unicron while the other was denying it as some sort of trick. Starscream was standing near him, servo over his chest which had a nasty cut, courtesy of the Star Saber which Galvatron was fighting with currently.

Sam made his way over to the Seeker. "Hey, let me see that, it looks pretty bad."

Starscream was surprised at the other's appearance and offer, but nodded. "Alright, but I would have been just fine." Starscream tried to play off his wound.

The combined human just smirked as he patched up the wound, "Sure thing Starscream." Over the couple of months since he's arrived, Sam has made a small friendship with the other. He first met him when he was trying to find the other teens. He found them talking with Starscream while cleaning up his armor. After getting the full story from them, Sam decided to give the Seeker a chance since the kids did and soon became friends with the other. "So why are you here and how'd you get this?" He asked, finished with fixing the other up so he de-combined.

"I came to warn Galvatron about Unicron, I learned about it from both the kids and seeing Thrust and Sideways' betrayal myself. He wouldn't listen though, and I tried to fight him as Optimus is doing now. Got me with a lucky swipe of the Saber."

The two continued to watch the escalating battle when something caught Sam's eyes. "Hey look, it's Laser Beak. Seems the kids want to watch the fight too, and I bet everyone at base is watching as well."

Starscream snorted and pointed at something. Sam saw a camera-looking thing attached to one side of the scrap. "Galvatron has these all over this area, knowing that Prime would have picked here. All the Decepticons are watching the fight as well. I'm sure they're wondering why we're not fighting each other at this moment."

"Enough of this nonsense Prime! There is no Unicron! This is just one of your Autobot tricks!" Galvatron yelled, and he sounded both annoyed and pissed.

"Galvatron, I'm telling the truth. We need to have a truce and prepare to fight Unicron." Optimus tried again.

"More lies, and I'll prove it." The Decepticon Leader said. He jumped back from Optimus and looked upwards, right at the metal moon of Cybertron. "If there really is a Unicron and if he is the moon, as you say, he won't take too kindly to this." Galvatron charged up his chest cannon and fired a huge beam, not unlike one from the Requiem Blaster, straight at the moon. Everyone was shocked though, when the center crater of the moon started to glow, before firing straight at Galvatron.

"GALVATRON!" Both Optimus and Starscream yelled. "Move out of the way!" But the warlord seemed shell-shocked and didn't even acknowledge them.

In a moment of desperation, bravery, and complete stupidity, Sam yelled at his partner, "Blitz, toss me at Galvatron!"

Not questioning his orders and hoping to Primus the other had a plan, Blitz grabbed Sam's arms and threw him, to the shock of both Bot and Con standing there as well as everyone watching, straight at the mech and the path of the beam.

Everyone watching yelled in horror when the beam consumed them both.

It seemed to take forever for the beam to die, at least for those watching. All around Cybertron, Autobot, Decepticon, Mini-Con and human alike were waiting with baited breath to see the fate of two of their own. Finally, the beam died down and they saw something, both relieving and slightly hilarious, causing many to fall to their afts in relief.

Inside a transparent, bluish dome, flat on his back was Galvatron, who had a bemused and slightly scared expression on his face and was staring at a human on his chest. Said human was currently yelling at the Decepticon Leader. The dome fizzled out of existence and everyone could hear what was being said.

"You slagging glitch!" Sam yelled. "How stupid do you have to be to fire at a freaking planet like that?! You're lucky I got here in time and shielded you otherwise you'd be nothing more than space dust! Now if you're finished being a moron, you will go over to Optimus and say you will have a truce, or so help me I'll rip you a new face! Do I make myself clear!?" Galvatron could only nod at the tiny but terrifying human sitting on his chest. "Good, now if you'll excuse me, I think I'm gonna pass out now." Truer words were never spoken. Not a second later, Sam's eyes rolled up and he was out like a light.

After making sure that other was out, Galvatron slowly stood up, the human cradled him his hands, and walked over to the dazed Optimus and Starscream. "Well, I think I believe you now Optimus." He said simply, carefully handing over the human.

"Yeah, it only took you nearly being destroyed for it to happen." The other replied, an almost snarky tone in his voice but his optics shown with gratitude. Everyone stared down at the sleeping human in the Prime's hands.

"He is something else, isn't he?" Starscream said, placing a finger on his friend he had thought died.

"He took on an attack from Unicron for me." Galvatron said. "Not many would do that. Prime…Optimus, I believe there is something we need to discuss."

*Sometime later*

With a pained groan, Sam opened his eyes and saw everything was blurred. He could tell he was in his room in the base and according to the clock beside his bed, several hours have passed since he saved Galvatron.

"Stupid glitch-headed mech." Sam said. As his sight cleared, he saw Blitz sitting beside him. "Hey Blitz, what's going on?" The Mini-Con explained what had happened after he passed out. When he got to what was currently going to happen, Sam got a Cheshire grin. "Oh, I gotta see this. Help me out of here Blitz." The human leaned on his partner slightly, that shield had taken quite a bit out of him, and the two walked out of the room. But not before Sam grabbed something and grinned again.

An historic moment was taking place, Autobot and Decepticon were meeting without firing at each other. Galvatron walked towards the waiting Optimus Prime. After a moment of just staring at each other, the two raised their hands and shook. Cheering echoed up and down the room. While the two gave a speech that was broadcasted all over the planet for those who couldn't be there in person, other Bots and Cons were shaking hands as well, some easier than others. High Wire, Sureshock and Grindor transformed into Perceptor, jumped up and placed his hand over the still joined hands of the Leaders, showing that the Mini-Cons were in on the truce. A sudden flash startled everyone, as well as multiple clicks.

"What is that?" Sideswipe asked.

Seeing more flashes, everyone looked up towards one of the balconies. Standing there with a camera and a grin so wide it should have split his face, was Sam. "Didn't mean to interrupt, but this was SO a Kodak moment. Plus, I wanted to be able to prove that you two could play nice."

"Sam!" "Samuel!" "Boy!" Several different voices yelled out.

"Give me that camera!" Galvatron ordered, though everyone could see a small smile on his face. "No one blackmails Galvatron!"

"No, give it to me little one." Optimus said, reaching up to grab Sam.

"Uh oh." Sam said, backing up. But he just wasn't quick enough. He found himself in the Prime's servo. "Blitz! Save me!" He called. Everyone snickered when the other just beeped before vaulting over the side to side on Tidal Wave's shoulder. "What?! I'm on my own? You traitor!" Sam said pouting, hiding the camera in his pocket while the others were laughing.

"How are you feeling Sam?" Optimus asked.

"Drained, but that's normal for me when I use my shield like I did."

"Thank you for that boy. I didn't have a chance to do so when you started to yell at me." Galvatron said.

Sam smiled, "No problem, just make sure you don't do anything stupid like that again."

"Speaking of stupid…" Alexis started, a low, threatening tone in her voice. "Do you have any idea how scared we were when we saw you do that?"

"Yeah amigo, you nearly gave all of us white hairs!" Carlos added in a similar tone.

"You actually made me restart!" Hot Shot said, mock-glaring.

"If you ever do something so stupid again, I'll blast you to earth!" Starscream said.

Sam gulped when he saw all the enraged and smirking faces of his friends. "Um…gotta go!" He jumped out of Optimus' servo and raced off through the base, several beings chasing him.

*War meeting, several days later*

All the Autobots and Decepticons that had been on the Earth were at a meeting, their Mini-Cons and human allies with them. They were trying to figure out how to destroy Unicron.

"So, anyone got any ideas? We can't just leave him there and Sideways is still trying to get the Star Saber." Optimus started. The traitor had tried several times to kidnap the three Mini-Cons that made the Saber, but Sam had managed to injure him with his DAW since it was a pure energy weapon and could damage him in his vapor-like mode. So now the three were placed under his protection at all times.

"We have nothing strong enough to blow him up. As long as he's a planet we can't get inside to destroy his spark. We would need him to transform and the only way to do that is to give him the Saber, which is out of the question." Jetfire said.

"So how do we beat the rust-bucket?" Cyclonus asked.

"Wait a second….Cyclonus you're a genius! Wait here." Sam said, running out of the room.

"How am I a genius?"

"Yeah, how ARE you a genius?" Demolisher teased, avoiding being hit.

It didn't take Sam long to return. When he did, he was holding something very careful in his hands, a small glass dropper filled with some sort of liquid while Blitz was carrying a flat mirror with different things on it. When they saw what he was holding, Hot Shot and Sideswipe nearly jumped out of their seats and started to back away. "Sam, are you insane?!" Hot Shot hissed.

"Uh…what is that?" Starscream asked, eyeing the thing warily.

"Something that Sideswipe, Hot Shot and I made on accident when we were trying to create something to prank the others with." Sam replied, taking the offered lift by Optimus.

"What does it do and why did Hot Shot and Sideswipe react like that?" Optimus asked placing the human down.

"Cause this stuff will eat through any metal. Watch this." Sam said. He had Blitz place the mirror in the middle of the table so that everyone could see it. Different scraps of metal from a piece of armor to a part of Cybertron itself was on it, there was even a bullet that was used for a shot-gun weapon from an old Transformer weapon. Very carefully, Sam squeezed one drop onto each piece of metal. Everyone watched fascinated as the metal was eaten away to nothing, the bullet creating a small spark when the powder inside was released.

"This stuff will continue to eat any metal until there is no more metal, then it'll just vanish. We've tested it on different substances and it'll leave everything else alone. Look," he placed a few drops on his hand, all they did was vaporize into mist. "If we make more of this stuff and blast it at Unicron, it'll eat him up within minutes. We also did some tests, there is no stopping this stuff once it gets on metal."

"Unicron and Sideways blast anything that even comes close to the moon. Plus, how are we supposed to carry this stuff if it eats through its container?" Red Alert asked.

Blurr looked up. "Decoy. We make it like we're going to attack with a fleet of ships. We launch them straight at Unicron and distract him."

"We can get smaller, unmanned vessels to carry the containers. They won't care about tiny ships with no firepower or signs of life on them." Wheeljack added.

"As for carrying them, all it has to be isn't metal. I was thinking glass, that's sure to break on impact." Sam finished.

"Uh, we're forgetting something, the Shield and Blaster are still on Unicron, how are we going to get them?" Scavenger asked.

"My trinemate Skywarp can get there easily." Starscream said. "He is able to warp anywhere without pause. He can get in and get out in no time."

"How long will it take you three to make more of this?" Galvatron asked.

"Uh huh, there's no way I'm going near that stuff again." Sideswipe said, waving his hands. "If it wasn't for Sam sitting on my servo, I wouldn't be here right now. Some of that stuff splashed and landed on him. It tipped over the side and ate one the chairs in the lab, that's how we figured out what it did at first."

Hot Shot nodded, "It's too dangerous for one of us to try to make that stuff again."

"We can help." Rad said, nodding to himself and the other humans. "You said that it doesn't harm anything that's not metal. We'll give you a hand."

Jetfire clapped his servo, "That's it, we've got a plan." Grins broke out throughout the rooms.

"Sam, how long will it take you to create this mixture?" Optimus asked.

The brunette was walking out of the room, the humans and their Mini-Cons following. "A few hours tops for the amount we'll need. Just get the ships ready."

"Before you go, there's something we need to discuss with you boy." Galvatron said, gesturing to himself and Optimus.

Sensing something important, everyone the room to keep busy until the attack. Sam walked up to the two Leaders. "What's up guys?"

"Sam…there is something we need to do." Optimus started.

"We feel you deserve it, more than anyone." Galvatron added.

Sam stared between the two, a little nervous. "Okay…what's that?"

The two smiled, well Optimus gave the impression of smiling _'sometimes I hate that battle mask'_. "Could you combine? It'll be easier to do." Getting the faint idea of where this was going, Sam did asked. He had to look up slightly, as the other two Transformers were a head and a half taller than him. "Sam, you have shown great courage and ability in fighting in a war that wasn't your own." Optimus started. "You have shown compassion, wisdom, and intelligence in your decisions."

"You have treated all Transformers not by their insignia, but by themselves. Not many would do that in this day and age." Galvatron said. "Whether Autobot or Decepticon, you have treated them as allies and friends."

"Because of this and more," Optimus took over again. "We wish to formally accept you as a Cybertronian, Transformer, friend and ally. Will you accept the Autobot mark?"

"And will you accept the Decepticon mark?" Galvatron finished.

Sam was struck speechless by the two leaders actions. Bowing his head slightly, Sam kneeled on one foot as he had seen other Transformers do before their leaders during a ceremony. Optimus and Galvatron placed one hand on each front part of his shoulder, the former on the right the latter on the left. Red and purple light glowed from their hands and Sam felt a tingling sensation in those areas. After a moment, the two stepped back and Sam stood up, all three smiling. Sam stared happily at the insignias now etched onto his armor, he hoped they would transfer to both Blitz's bike and Mini-Con mode as well as his human body.

"Welcome, Sam and Blitz, to the Autobots and Decepticons." Optimus greeted, clasping the other's hand.

"You are the first ever to bear both marks boy." Galvatron said. "Wear them with pride."

"Yes sir." Sam said, saluting the other and making him laugh.

Optimus walked over to the door, "Come on, let's tell everyone the good news."

Galvatron and Sam nodded, the latter de-combining. Blitz now had the marks in the same areas that were on the combined form, but Sam didn't have the marks. Seeing his crest-fallen look, Galvatron picked him and Blitz up. "Don't worry about it boy. We didn't expect it to carry over to your human body anyway. Besides, something better waits for you."

The four quickly made their way through the base, Sam trying to figure out Galvatron's words. He was shocked when they walked into the mess hall and dozens of voices yelled out 'Congratulations!' at him, nearly causing him to fall off the servo that carried him.

"Wait…you guys knew about this?" Sam asked, laughing.

"Of course we did, they asked us first if it would be alright." Jetfire said. "Since it's never been done before, an individual having both marks, they weren't sure how we would take it."

"When they told us it was going to be you, we said 'Go for it!'" Cyclonus added.

Sam was placed on the ground where the teens walked up, Alexis holding a small box. "Red Alert figured that the markings wouldn't transfer over to your human body. Was he right?"

The brunette nodded, a little sad about that, "Yeah, but Blitz got them, so I guess it's alright."

Rad smirked, "You sure about that? Otherwise, we did this for nothing."

"What?"

They laughed and Alexis handed him the box, "Just open it, you'll see."

Sam just rolled his eyes at their laughter and did as asked. He nearly dropped the box from what was within. Inside was a necklace, the chain was multicolored and thick so it would be very hard to break. Hanging from the chain was a pendant about the size of a half-dollar. The right half was the Autobot insignia in red, the left half was the Decepticon in purple.

"Guys…this is…" Sam was struggling for words. "How did you do this?"

Carlos grinned, "When we heard what Red Alert said, we knew you would be upset now to have the marks on you. Alexis was fiddling with her necklace and came up with the idea."

"They came to all of us with the idea and we agreed it would be great." Hot Shot said. "The chain is made from a piece of all of our armor." He gestured to the other Bots and Cons.

"The insignias are pieces of ours." Galvatron said, nodding to himself and Optimus.

Grinning and happy to the point of tears, Sam put the necklace on. It seemed to glow when it was around his neck. "What are we waiting for guys? Let's celebrate! The stuff will only take a few hours to make." Sam enticed everyone, who were ecstatic about the idea.

About an hour later, while everyone was playing games and such, Galvatron called from across the room, "Oh and Sam, I almost forgot! I'm naming you the Decepticon Third in Command after Starscream!"

"You're also the TIC of the Autobots after Jetfire!" Optimus added.

Everyone roared in laughter when the human was so shocked he fell over playing twister, ending up tangling several of the kids in a big pile.

"YOU DID WHAT?!"

*Some time later*

"And there they go!" Hot Shot cheered, watching the four ships take off. Sam had finished sooner than he thought and created enough of the metal eating liquid to filled a hundred glass spheres the size of bowling balls. They were placed on old transport ships with the auto-pilot set to crash-land on Unicron. The decoy was working perfectly, Unicron and Sideways' forces completely ignored the little ships and focused on the armada.

"Just keep them distracted a little longer…" Optimus ordered through the armada's comm, receiving several affirmatives. "The second they crash, return to Cybertron."

Everyone watched, holding their breath as the four ships went straight at the disguised moon from four directions, hoping that their enemy wouldn't notice them. Then they saw it, four tiny explosions on the corners of the moon's surface.

"Zoom in on one of the crash sites." Galvatron ordered quickly. "See if it's working."

The ship's main screen zoomed in on the far right's crash site and saw it. Unicron's surface was being eaten away at a rapid pace, and soon they didn't need the zoom feature to see it. Cheers echoed throughout the ship.

"We did it!" Red Alert cheered.

"All ships return to Cybertron immediately, we have a celebration to get to." Optimus ordered a smile in his voice.

As the ships returned to the metal planet, Sam couldn't help but think they forgot something. He continued to try to figure it out as Blitz gently steered him off the ships, following the others. He knew his human was trying to remember something and knew it would be wise not to disturb him.

_'What am I forgetting? That stuff will eat through Unicron and Sideways in a manner of minutes. Skywarp already returned with the captured weapon Mini-Cons…so what's the problem?'_ Sam stared off into the distance, willing the answer to come to him. Suddenly, the horrifying truth hit him, forcing Sam to freeze in place, eyes widening in terror before glancing up at the still dissolving planet.

"Sam? What's up amigo?" Carlos asked, seeing his friend stiffen up. His concern brought everyone out of their happy daze and they turned towards the human.

"Guys, do you remember that little test we did? Where I showed what that stuff could do?"

"Yeah, pretty cool test if you ask me." Fred said with a grin.

Sam shook his head, trying to get them to see what he realized. "Do you remember that little bullet? What it did?"

"Yeah, it made a little popping sound because of the explosive qualities." Hot Shot replied. "So?"

The brown-eyed human stared at them all, "Unicron is a planet-size Transformer, with weapons of his own. What do you think will happen when it gets at them?"

By now, everyone realized where Sam was going with this. "If all of them go off at once…" Optimus trailed off.

"We'll be seeing the mother of all explosions close up and personal." Jetfire added.

Red Alert did some quick calculations, "There's no stopping it, and Unicron is too close for-"

BOOM

The shock wave was so powerful that it even knocked Tidal Wave to his aft. Transformer and human alike stared up at the former moon, now a giant fireball that rivaled the sun in its intensity, and it was getting bigger.

Transformer and human alike watched the fireball that was once the metal moon of Cybertron slowly grow.

"At that rate, Cybertron, and us, will be swallowed in a manner of minutes." Red Alert said grimly.

"So what do we do?" Wheeljack asked angrily. "Just sit here and wait for the end?! After everything we've done!"

Scavenger snorted, "And how are we supposed to stop that?"

"We don't." Sam said, a determined glint in his eyes. "But maybe I can shield us."

"NO!" Sam jumped about a foot at the several voices yelling at him in negative.

"You passed out unconscious last time, just doing it for a few minutes." Hot Shot said. "I guarantee that explosion will last a lot longer."

"You'll drain yourself dry, maybe to the point of…" Sideswipe trailed off, unable to finish the sentence.

"Then I'll die giving my life for all of you!" Sam yelled. "That's worth everything to me, to make sure you're all safe. I will NOT allow any of you to die because of that!" He pointed to the explosion that was once Unicron.

He clapped his hands together and before anyone could stop him, a bluish energy surrounded Sam before shooting up into the sky. Everyone watching in awe as the dome spread across the sky, creating a surreal scene, like night and day having merged into one. Just a minute later, the explosion hit, the shockwave from the force of the impact sending everyone but Sam to their knees.

"Incredible…" Red Alert said, scanning Sam and then the shield. "It's…it's holding! This might actually work."

"Of course it's going to work, its Sam we're talking about." Wheeljack said with a wry grin, though you could see concern for the human in his optics.

Said human was frowning intensely in concentration, beads of sweat gathering before falling to the metal earth.

_'Man…this is harder than I thought it would be…'_ Sam thought, panting now. _'The force of it…it's unbelievable…'_ He could feel himself fall to his knees. _'I'm not going to be able to do it…it's too much…'_ He was shocked out of his thoughts when he felt a familiar metal hand placed on his shoulder. Cracking open an eye, he saw Blitz standing there, a determined glint in his optics. Sam felt something flow into him, allowing him to stand once more. _'Wow…thank you Blitz. I needed that boost.'_

Everyone observed the interaction with awe. Red Alert scanned them again, "Blitz transferred some of his energy to Sam, the boy was nearly done for." He scanned the shield. "The shield is back to normal, but it's starting to drop again."

"Well what are we standing around here for?" Rad stated before running over to Sam and placing a hand on him, High Wire at his side. "Sam needs energy and we've got plenty to spare!"

Getting the idea, everyone crowded around the human, placing a finger or hand on him and sending him their energy, all that they were able to. They were surprised when a mental voice echoed inside them. _"Guys…you rock. Thank you so much for helping me. Now let's save Cybertron!"_

Sam would later have to be told what happened, he wasn't paying attention to anything but maintaining the shield. The fireball continued for another ten minutes, during which several Cybertronians, humans and Mini-Cons had to take their hand back or risk themselves. Once it was over, everyone cheered as the shield faded away, showing that not even a scrap of Unicron remained. They stopped though when they heard Blitz's alarmed beeping and saw him gently lowering Sam. The medic quickly scanned him before smiling. "He's going to be just fine, he just used up a lot of his energy."

Carlos snorted weakly, grinning that his friend was going to be alright. "Doing what? It's not like he saved the world or anything."

Laughter echoed throughout the landscape; happy and relieved sounding.

_'Ugh…what hit me?'_ Sam thought with a pained groan, unable to do anything else. If he thought the last time he used his shield he was weak, that was nothing compared to what he felt like now. Just the thought of trying to open his eyes exhausted him, but he did it anyway. Once again, he woke up in his room, the lights dim so he couldn't see the figure beside his bed. When his vision adjusted and cleared, he was surprised to see Leader-1, Galvatron's Mini-Con partner.

"That's different." Sam mused to himself. "Hey Leader-1, wake up." The Mini-Con slowly onlined his optics to see who disturbed his recharge. He trilled happily when he saw Sam was awake. "It's good to see you too. How long was I out this time?" The answer shocked him. "Five days? I was out for almost a week?!" Leader-1 continue to explain what had happened, Sam nodding every once in a while. "Okay, so I pass out, they make fun of me (which I will get them back for someday), all of you have been taking turns watching over me, and they've made a permanent truce?" Nod. "Man, all the interesting stuff happens while I'm out." Sam groused.

Leader-1 just chuckled, sounding like clicking of gears together, and stood up. He said that Sam should refresh himself, he was going to go get him something to eat. "Alright Leader-1, see you in a bit." Sam said, waving the other out. Once he was gone, Sam got out of bed, or tried to at least. The second he put weight on his feet, his legs crumbled out from underneath him. "Ouch…should have thought that through." He looked up again when a different Mini-Con came in. Sam saw it was Sparkplug. The other gently helped Sam to his feet and towards the bathroom, going only as fast as Sam was able to. "Thank you Sparkplug. I guess after five days of no food after using my shield like that, I'm a little drained." Sparkplug just laughed at him and placed him on the toilet, then got him some new clothes. "Thanks, I think I can take it from here." Sam grinned. The other nodded and left.

Thirty minutes later, a refreshed Sam hobbled out of the bathroom and saw the two Mini-Cons had a food tray all ready for him. "Thanks you two. By the way, where's Blitz?" Leader-1 handed him a familiar capsule. "I guess giving me energy drained him too. I'll let him rest for awhile." Sam ate with gusto, enjoying the meal the two had fixed up for him. When he was done, he felt a lot stronger. "Thanks guys. Want to surprise the others?" Sam smirked. The two rapidly nodded before gently grabbing Sam, helping him out of the room.

They made their way down the deserted halls. When he questioned about it, Sparkplug told him everyone was at dinner. As they got closer, they heard the dull roar of voices during a meal. Sam grinned evilly at the Mini-Cons and said, "Watch this guys." Under his own power, he walked towards the double doors. After making sure no one was on the other side (he didn't want to hurt anyone after all) he kicked open the doors, forcing them flying back and smacking into the walls on the other side. All movement and sound ceased the second he did so, shocked optics and eyes following him. Sam walked in, a shit-eating grin on his face, and said, "So what's for supper guys?"

*One month later*

After his little stunt the day he woke up, Sam wasn't allowed out of anyone's sight for more than a few minutes. The only time he was, was when was going to the bathroom. He even had someone with him when he was sleeping! They all said that it was to make sure he really was okay, but Sam suspected that they wanted to make sure that he didn't do something stupid again. After giving this some thought, he decided that they were in the right, he would have most likely done something stupid.

Getting ready for the day, Sam had the strangest feeling that something was going to be different today. "That's weird…" He mused to himself, glancing around the room. Shrugging it off, Sam and Blitz went to go have breakfast with the others.

"Good morning Sam, Blitz." Optimus greeted, helping the two onto the table.

"Morning everyone." The human greeted, going to sit at the smaller table.

"Sam, you look a little pale. Is everything alright?" Red Alert asked.

Giving a sheepish chuckle, Sam answered him. "I'm alright Red. It's just I feel weird, like something is going to happen."

"What, Unicron coming back from the dead as a zombie-bot?" Skywarp snickered.

"No." Sam dead-panned, shaking his head at the horrible joke. "Something else."

Before some else could comment, Blitz looked up and over at the door. Not a second later, a large whitish swirling portal appeared. A familiar voice echoed out of it. "Sam, Blitz. It is time to return."

"Alright Primus." Sam sighed, standing up. Immediately, the atmosphere turned sad and somber. "I guess this is it guys." The five humans and their Mini-Cons rushed over and enveloped Sam in a group hug. "I'll miss you guys, watch over the Bots and Cons?" Sam asked. Though they had made a truce and were no longer at war, they decided to keep the factions with both Optimus and Galvatron as co-leaders of Cybertron.

The humans were too choked up to reply so they merely nodded. Sam was gently picked up by the back of his shirt by Starscream, leaving Blitz with the others, and placed in his hand. He ran a finger up and down Sam's back. "We will all miss you Sam."

He was passed around to everyone and got the same treatment. "Take care of yourself Sam." Optimus said.

"Show my counterpart who's the boss boy, or you'll regret it." Galvatron ordered.

"I will guys." Sam said, trying to keep his tears in. "Maybe I'll be able to see you guys some day."

"We'd like that." Hot Shot said, nodding with the others.

"Sam, you must return now, I can't keep the portal open for too long." Primus' voice urged.

"I'm coming." Sam said. He jumped down as Blitz jumped up, combining in an instant. "Farewell for now everyone." He waved goodbye and then leaped into the portal. Everyone watched the portal close in on itself, each one crying silently at the loss of a dear friend.

Sam landed in a very familiar place, Primus' hand. "I take it the Matrix is fully charged again?" Sam asked, de-combining. He noticed that Blitz appeared as his bike form before placing him in his capsule.

"Yes it is Sam. And since you are no longer in that other dimension, Blitz's Mini-Con transformation is locked away." Primus answered Sam's hidden question. "Here it is now." The human smiled when he saw the Matrix appear, glowing brighter than ever before. It circled around him almost happily. "It has almost been pining for you. Now, since the bond between you two is completed, the Matrix can enter you without damage to you."

"Uh…what?" Was the intelligent reply.

Primus just chuckled. "You want to carry it around in your hands for the rest of your life? This way, it'll always be near you and you'll be able to call it with a thought. Think of it as being in your chest plates if that makes it easier."

"Oh, alright." Sam said. As soon as it got the affirmative, the Matrix flew at Sam's chest, fading right into it. "That felt a little weird."

"I bet it did. Now, the Matrix will return you after I explain something. As you know, this place exists in a different time and place altogether. The flow of time here is much different compared to other places."

"Okay…so that means more than almost two years have passed for my home dimension." Sam deduced. "How much passed?"

"Almost twenty years Sam." Primus answered, a sad look in his optics. "And much has changed. I would be unable to explain it to you, this is something you must see for yourself."

"Gee, great way to make me excited to return home Primus." Sam grinned, trying to cheer the other up. "I'm sure it'll work out alright."

"I hope you are right little one. It is time for you to return home, remember, I will be keeping an optic on you." Primus said.

Sam only had time to nod before a pillar of light appeared around him. Primus watched as Sam was taken back home. "I hope Sam can do this…otherwise his world will be destroyed."

When Sam woke up he saw in was in the middle of a forest, but through the trees he could see a city, though far more futuristic than what he was used to.

"Wow, I guess a lot can change in twenty years…the question is, just how much has changed." Sam murmured softly. Standing up, he tossed out Blitz's capsule. "Okay Blitz, can you hack into the WWW and check out some of the important things for me? Gotta be prepared for whatever's waiting." The teen fell silent as he waited for his friend to get the information required. Blitz then started talking in rapid beeps, though Sam understood him perfectly and started to sort out the information, growing confused and shocked as he did so. Sometime, shortly after he disappeared, the Autobots had not only made a treaty with the Decepticons, they revealed themselves to the governments of the world…_and took them over!_ While they weren't dictators or anything, the Cybertronians were pretty much in charge of the planet, each faction getting different countries and cities to rule as they saw fit. They told the leaders what to do and the leaders did as ordered. As long as their rules and laws were obeyed, the Cybertronians left the humans alone pretty much, each staying in their new cities, free of nearly all humans. It seemed only a very few, barely a handful, were able to even get into the cities.

"What the fuck happened here?!" Sam muttered, outraged. He felt almost betrayed. He had been told countless times by Optimus that freedom was the right of all sentient beings, yet he just found out that the Autobots had pretty much taken over the world with the Decepticons.

The human was brought out of his musings by more beeps from Blitz. "Oh really? Well then, we'd better get going." Sam said darkly, hopping onto the bike. Blitz had just told him that the city they were near was L.A. and the Autobots were holding some sort of meeting there with the humans. He figured he would give them a piece of his mind, shock the hell out of them, and get away with it all in one go.

Sam entered the city easily enough, the streets deserted. He figured it was mandatory for all humans to go. Finding the main street, he finally saw it. Thousands of humans lined it in front of him about twenty feet away, while at the far end stood the Autobots, both those he had left behind twenty years ago, and several new ones. He saw that they all looked colder, if that was possible. His angered spiked when Optimus stepped forward and the crowd chanted 'Lord Prime'. He couldn't hear what Optimus was saying though.

"Let's see if this works…" Sam said, concentrating. The Matrix appeared, almost melting out of his chest and started to hover in front of him. With a flick of his wrist, Sam sent it high into the air and zooming towards the Autobots.

Several humans had looked up and gasped in surprise seeing the artifact flying overhead. Their gasps were what drew Optimus out of his speech, falling silent in shock, optics wide. The other Autobots followed his gaze and they copied their leader's expression. The Matrix started spinning rapidly, shooting up particles of light into the air, forming a holographic image. A very familiar but very pissed off image of a certain someone to the Autobots. The humans gathered there were confused but didn't dare question about it so they kept silent.

"By Primus…!" Ironhide said softly.

"Is it really?" Jolt murmured.

"Sam…"Optimus nearly whispered. All eyes and optics were trained on the image.

'Sam' glared at them, the image copying the real Sam's movements exactly. "You all lied to me. You told me that freedom is the right of all sentient beings. And what do you think I find when I return? You fucking took over the world! You all betrayed my trust." Sam growled at out them, causing them all to flinch.

"Sam, please I can-" Optimus tried to speak.

"Save it 'Lord Prime'!" Sam sneered out. The Cybertronians all took a step back at the tone in the human's voice. "I don't want to hear any more lies from you or any of you. I don't know why I even decided to return, what the hell was I thinking?" The human shook his head before turning back to give an icy glare. "This is the last you will hear from me Autobots. Enjoy what you've done for yourselves."

The Matrix cut the image and stopped spinning. It pulsed angrily for a minute before zooming back towards Sam, flying into his chest. The Autobots watched this, shocked once more at what had happened. The human gave them one final glare, before jumping onto his motorcycle and riding off out of the city.

"Sir, what do we do?" Ratchet asked.

Optimus continued to watch Sam ride off further and further away. "I will not let it end like this Ratchet. We lost him once and now we might do it again. Autobots, roll out!"

"Now you're talking!" Bumblebee played before transforming into his alt and riding off through the parted crowd, the others close behind him. The second the humans heard the familiar words, they immediately cleared the street for the Autobots.

*With Sam*

Blitz was doing most of the driving through the desert area. He sensed his human needed to get himself under control and just took over for him. Sam was busy trying to stem the flow of tears and trying to calm down. After a few minutes he managed to do both and took control back from Blitz, slowing to a stop in the middle of nowhere.

"Man, this just sucks Blitz." Sam sighed and chuckled without humor. Blitz said nothing, too busy trying to figure out what a signal he was picking up was. After a moment he recognized it and gave a startled beep. "Blitz? What's wrong?" The brown-eyed listened as Blitz told Sam what he realized. "Oh crap. How the hell did he get here?" Sam growled, not in the mood for this. "When will he arrive?...In ten minutes? You sure he's heading straight for us?...Alright, let's go meet him." Sam said, driving off again.

Racing towards the signal and focused on what was waiting for him, that Sam was surprised when he heard a roar of engines behind them. Turning his head, Sam's eyes widened when he saw all the Autobots he had just left, following behind him. What made him even more shocked was that the Decepticons, both familiar and unfamiliar, were with them. "Ah frag it!" Sam grumbled. "I am so not in the mood for this…" Sam took control of the steering again, making a sharp turn and urging more speed from the motorcycle.

However it seemed that the Autobots and Decepticons were faster as Ratchet pulled in front of Sam, forcing him to make a sharp turn to avoid barreling into the other. He had to make another when Barricade did the same thing. This game continued for a few minutes, Sam realizing too late what the Autobots were doing, herding him into a tight circle with them blocking his way.

Sighing in frustration and anger as well as worry about the quickly approaching signal, Sam stopped Blitz in the center of the circle, glaring angrily as the Autobots and Decepticons transformed quickly, all staring down at the human.

"I don't have time for this. What do you want?" Sam stated coldly, eyes hard. They softened the tiniest bit when he saw Optimus' optics. There were so sad…

"Sam, please let me explain. It's not what it seems. Yes, we did make a truce with the Decepticons and yes, we are pretty much the rulers of this planet. But there is more to it than that."

"Please believe us Sam…"Ironhide said, voice softer than anything Sam had ever heard before.

Sam stared at them all, seeing each one wore the same sad and longing look. He glanced towards Blitz, "What do you think?" The Autobots were confused at this and their optics widened when the bike started to beep radically, Sam nodding every so often. "Alright." Sam turned back to the Autobots. "I'm going to give you all a chance to explain just what the hell happened when I left. But not right now, I got something I need to take care of in a few minutes."

"And what is that boy?" Megatron said. Seeing the confused look in the other's eyes he clarified."Optimus alerted me to what had happened. Luckily I was already on my way to that blasted meeting and just changed course to here. I must say, I never thought I would see you alive again."

Seeing the two leaders standing there and not fighting each other was just surreal to Sam. He turned back towards Blitz and chuckled, "Man, and I thought that the other two shocked me. This will take some getting used to…Yeah, I know I forgot to ask him. I'll do it later."

"What was it that you needed to take care of Sam?" Ratchet asked, bringing the conversation back.

Sam smacked his forehead and groaned, "Oh yeah. Blitz, where is he?...alright." He turned back to the bemused Cybertronians. "I have to take care of someone, hopefully it won't take too long."

"You? Fight?" Starscream said, not in a mocking way but more in surprise.

"Yeah, and he's almost here. Stay back." Sam said, focused on something in the distance. Everyone turned and saw a black semi heading rapidly towards them.

"Who is that? I don't recall anyone having that form." Prowl stated warily.

"A very big problem…" Sam growled out. Autobot and Decepticon alike watched in awe as the bike started to shift and Sam jumped into the middle of it. Soon a silver and gold Cybertronian stood before them. On his shoulders were his faction allegiance, Autobot and Decepticon.

"Who…what….how?" They all stuttered.

"Not now! Here he comes!" Sam called, bringing out his weapon. The black semi transformed into a demented version of Optimus. "How the hell are you still around Nemesis?!"

Nemesis laughed, bringing out his gun, "I cannot be offlined! Did you really think that pathetic explosion would destroy me?"

"Uh…actually yeah I did. It blew up that whole planet." Sam stated.

The dark Transformer growled. "I wouldn't have needed to do that if it wasn't for you showing up when you did. I'll kill you now and then I'll take care of those others back home."

"Over our cold lifeless shells you will." Sideswipe growled. Autobot and Decepticon alike had moved to stand beside Sam. They may not have any clue what the heck was going on, but they were going to help their friend fight.

While Nemesis started cackling, Sam murmured to the others, "I don't know if he still has it, but the last time I fought Nemesis he could regenerate from attacks, he could re-grow his limbs in a matter of seconds."

"Then we'll just have to blast him into smithereens." Barricade said with a growl.

No more was said because Nemesis gave a loud, feral cry and charged, waving a dark energon sword and his gun.

It seemed as if Nemesis still did possess the ability to regenerate. Barricade had shot off his leg from the knee down and it reappeared in seconds. The battle raged on for over two hours, the Autobots and Decepticons fighting like a seamless unit against the dark lookalike, though the latter did managed to injure several of his attackers. At one point he was about to finish off Megatron with his sword but the combined human pushed the Decepticon Leader out of the way of the attack and ignored a burning sensation in his side.

"You saved me." Megatron said, surprised.

Sam ignored the pain in his side and smirked, "It seems like I am always saving your aft Megatron." He snickered at the confused look the other had.

The battle resumed quickly for Sam when Nemesis got in a lucky shot and had Sam on his back with the former's cannon right in his face. "Say goodbye Blitz." Nemesis snarled, charging up the cannon.

Right before he fired though he was tackled to the ground by Bumblebee and Barricade while Soundwave helped Sam up. "Thanks." Sam murmured, already bringing out his DAW to finish the fight. Soundwave merely nodded. Every Bot and Con backed off when they heard the whistle of the weapon swinging through the air, their optics widened when they saw it effortlessly cut through Nemesis. When the other was nothing more than a head trying to regenerate again Sam did one of his favorite attacks, the atom ray.

"You blasted human! You will-" Nemesis never got the chance to finish what he was going to say, the attack at vaporized him completely.

No one moved for a moment, all panting slightly because of the fight. A groan caught their attention, everyone turned towards the sound only to have their optics widen when Sam fell to his knees, clutching his side. Ratchet and Hook were immediately beside him, gently lowering him onto his back, the other Bots and Cons surrounded the trio.

Ratchet moved Sam's hand and saw that the other had a large gash in his side, sluggishly bleeding energon. Cursing in Cybertronian, the two medics started to make a temporary patch for Sam.

"You're back one day and you're already trying to give me a restart boy." Ratchet muttered finishing up, though he had a small smile on his face.

Sam chuckled but then groaned when the action caused some pain to flare. "It's what I live for Doc Bot, driving medics up walls. You shoulda seen…"

"Should have seen what Sam?" Optimus asked gently as he lifted the other. Prowl was sending a comm to base for a ground-bridge to take everyone back.

The human was going in and out of consciousness and was not fully aware of what he was saying. "Shoulda seen Red and the others when they saw me in space….nearly gave Optimus a spark-attack I think…and Gramps must be going nuts now..." Sam slurred out, finally falling asleep.

"Did any of that make sense to anyone?" Ironhide asked. "Who's 'Red'? And what was that bit about Optimus?"

"I don't know old friend, but it seems like Sam has had some adventures while he was gone." The Prime said, watching the ground bridge appear.

"We have a lot of explaining to do. Did you see the look in his eyes?" Sideswipe said. The Autobots shuddered at the raw pain, anger and betrayal they saw before.

"We'll come too, help explain to him." Megatron said. "Besides, I'm curious about something he said before. 'Always saving my aft', it doesn't make sense."

"Let's go, that patch will only hold for so long, I'd like to see to my patient now." Ratchet said, waving a wrench around. That got everyone moving, making the medic chuckle darkly. "I still got it."

Groaning, Sam onlined his optics. Wincing at the bright lights shining above him, he looked around and saw that he was alone in an infirmary. And seeing how neat, pristine and orderly it was, not to mention one wall completely devoted to wrenches of various sizes from the size of a human to one half the size of Optimus, told him exactly which infirmary he was in.

"I'm in Ratchet's domain, oh joy." Sam chuckled to himself, feeling Blitz laugh with him. He glanced down at his side where the wound was, only to see no wound. "Wow, I'm impressed. I wonder whose better, Ratchet or Red Alert? I can see it now, 'Battle of the Medics'." Sam snickered, getting off of the berth. Walking out of the med-bay, Sam de-combined from Blitz who gave a confused chirp. "I figured you could use a rest for awhile, don't worry, I got my shield if anything were to happen." The human assured his friend. Blitz gave a nod before going into his capsule form. Sam pocketed it and started walking.

The base reminded him of the Autobot base back in the other dimension, only less battle damaged and more high-tech. After walking for a bit he finally heard some voices coming from behind a partly closed door. Peeking through it he saw all the Autobots and Decepticons around a large table, staring at something and talking to each other, the topic lost in a buzz of sound from his vantage point.

Squeezing through the door, Sam walked in, unnoticed by everyone. Snickering softly to himself Sam walked over to the closest one which happened to be Sunstreaker. Easily flipping himself up, Sam now sat on the yellow frontliner's shoulder, who still took no notice of the human now on him. Nor did any of the others, but thankfully his new vantage point let Sam see and hear what they were talking about.

They had drawn up a mock-invasion on the table and what they should do to prevent it and counter-act it. Each one took their turn suggesting something and the hologram on the table made it a reality to see how it would most likely happen. At the moment Jazz had suggested creating motion-activated lasers located in random places and have them camouflaged and have enough power to either stun their invader or take them out if need be. Most of the Bots and Cons liked the plan, but Prowl and Sam both saw a major flaw in it.

"That wouldn't work Jazz." Prowl said.

"And why not?" Jazz asked, confused. "With lasers like that set up at seemingly random points around and in the base, we would be able to take out any invader easily."

But before Prowl could make the counter argument, Sam beat him too it, shocking everyone with his presence. "It's not the invader problem you would need to worry about. What if something were to happen to the control chips in the lasers or what if someone talented enough hacked into them? Either scenario would be bad because the lasers would start firing at you guys in the base, either stunning you or offlineing you." Sam stated simply. Dumb-founded, everyone turned to the hologram to see it bring Sam's words to life, showing just how dangerous the laser idea was. The human flipped off of Sunstreaker's shoulder and landed in the middle of the table and folded his arms. Optimus shut off the hologram and everyone gathered in a tighter circle. The silence rang throughout the room, none of the Transformers knowing what to say or do at first.

Finally Ratchet broke the silence. "I had thought that with your wound like it was you would have been out for at least a few more days. I'm surprised but happy to see you are alright."

"Thanks to a friend, I got faster than normal healing abilities now." Sam answered. "I would have been fine Ratchet, but thanks for your help. And please stop scanning me." He chuckled faintly with the last bit, shocking the medic into compliance. "I got enough of that back where I was and actually had to make a deal with someone to get them to stop."

That seemed to be the opening they were looking for because Optimus asked, "Sam….where were you? What happened?"

"You first Prime." Sam stated, staring right into the familiar yet unfamiliar optics. Back in the other dimension Sam had become close friends with that Optimus like he once was with this one, but now things had changed drastically. "What the hell happened to make you do what you all did?"

The flamed Autobot gave a sad sound but nodded. "You deserve to know Sam." He cycled his vents. "After you….vanished, we spent ages looking for you. Doing everything we could to try to find you."

"We scoured this rock from top to bottom." Ironhide added gruffly. "And we came up with nothing. None of our resources could find you, not the human's CIA and FBI, not even NEST could track you down."

"After we were brought back and made the truce, we agreed to help try to find you." Megatron said. "Not even Soundwave could find you with the help of the human's satellites."

Jazz picked up the story, "We had questioned the US government about the humans that were there when I and the others were onlined…that did not end well."

"What do you mean?" Sam asked.

All the Cybertronians shifted in their spots, uncomfortable. "We found out several things that humanity wished to keep from us…among other things." Optimus finally said, voice like steel with a frigid undertone. Sam shuddered, almost scared of the tone the Autobot Leader had. "Because of what we discovered, we had to take action immediately."

"I was brought back thanks to some fragments from the Allspark." Megatron said. "Along with my Decepticons. Optimus explained what had happened and we agreed to the truce. We control everything now, though we let the humans have their leaders to make the petty decisions, we ultimately rule this planet."

"We did what we did for a good reason Sam, and we're sorry that this is what you came home to. We never wanted to break your trust in us." Bumblebee said, optics sad.

Sam stared up at them all in turn. He sensed that they were telling him the truth, but that they were also keeping something about it from him. The human decided he would find out what it was later.

"Sam….would you please tell us what happened to you?" Sideswipe asked softly.

Taking a deep breath the human nodded. He concentrated and the Matrix appeared beside him, floating around him in a lazy circle. "The morning I disappeared, the Matrix floated over to me. I felt a pull from it and it led me outside. Using it, I was able to bring back Ironhide, Wheeljack, Jazz, Arcee, Chromia and Flare-up. But right after I did, those goons showed up, demanding I go with them. I refused and they fired some weapon at me that would have killed me in a very painful manner."

"What happened then Sam? All I remember is a bright light swallowing you and then you were gone." Jazz said.

"The Matrix saved me by teleporting me to see someone very special." Sam answered, smiling. He told his story to the shell-shocked Cybertronians, leaving only the bit about going to another dimension out for now, as well as it was Primus that trained him, he was going to tell them, but not quite yet. Sam believed that they had to earn that trust back.

"You have had quite the adventure boy." Starscream said, several others nodding.

"We didn't notice the signs of you being a Prime Sam, that is why we never mentioned it." Optimus said.

Sam nodded. "That's what my friend figured. That or you guys just thought they were anomalies with me."

"Boy, you mentioned something during that fight with the black warrior. You said something about always having to save my aft." Megatron brought up.

"And who was that anyway? I've never seen him before." Prowl added.

Sam stared up at them all. "That was Nemesis, a dark version of Optimus. I had fought him before and I thought he had been destroyed by an explosion that consumed a planet. As for what I said, that is going to have to wait. I forgive you all, somewhat, for what has happened. I understand that you had a very good reason for what you did, but you still did. But I can't trust you with the other part of my story quite yet. You all broke my trust with what you did, pretty much enslaving humanity with part freedom."

All optics, red and blue, grew sad at the words spoken by the human, knowing that they were true. The Autobots had always said that freedom is the right of all sentient beings and that they would always fight to preserve that right. And their favorite human comes home to see them rulers of his world.

"We understand Sam. And I promise you that we will work to gain your trust again, and this time that promise will not be broken little one."

The human nodded in acceptance, smiling slightly at the nickname that the other Optimus had given him as well.

"Well, I think that's enough for today everyone. You're dismissed." Optimus said. He turned to Sam. "You may go anywhere you wish Sam, in and out of the base. But I ask you to please not leave the city, not without someone with you."

Seeing the pleading look in the Prime's optics, Sam agreed to his request and hopped off the table and left the room.

"Do you think he'll ever truly forgive us sir?" Bumblebee asked softly.

"I don't know my friend, but I hope so." The Prime replied, voice sad.

Megatron snorted and placed a claw on his younger brother's shoulder. "That human is too much like you Prime. Soft-sparked with a forgiveness streak a mile wide. He'll forgive you all, and you will all have some mushy scene to go with it."

Optimus chuckled softly, slightly cheered up by his brother's words. "Thank you Megatron."

*Meanwhile*

Sam was exploring the base, nodding to the random Bot or Con he happened to meet. While he was out, Optimus and Megatron both had commed their soldiers about Sam's return, so each was happy to see the human.

Said human was currently lost, walking down hallway after hallway with no end in sight. "Man, why does this always happen to me?" He grumbled, taking a sharp turn and crashing into someone and straight to the ground.

"Whoa! Hey, are you alright?" A new voice asked.

Rubbing the back of his head, Sam glanced up to see a human about late 50's or so, staring at him in concern. There was just something extremely familiar about him.  
"Do I know you? Or did I? I hate time travel…." Sam grumbled out the last bit, taking the offered hand.

"Sorry about that, you came out of nowhere and…" The man trailed off, peering at him closely. "Sam?" He asked, eyes wide in shock.

It finally clicked, Sam did know this human, well he did twenty years ago. "Major Lennox?"

Lennox grinned impossibly wide and grabbed the other in a hug. "I'd never thought I'd see you again! Primus, where the heck have you been Sam?" Lennox looked over his shoulder. "Hey! Look who I found! Get your aft over here Epps!" The sound of rushing footsteps greeted Sam's ears, who was still being crushed in the hug.

"Who do you have here Lennox?" A male voice, Epps asked.

"Will, I think you're crushing whoever you have." A woman's voice added.

Lennox jumped slightly and released his hold, keeping a hand on Sam's shoulders. "Sorry about that kid."

"'Kid'? You haven't called anyone that since…Sam!" Epps started off confused, but turned ecstatic once he got a good look at the brunette. He then grabbed the other in a tight hug as well. "Where the hell have you been?! We've been looking for you for twenty years Sam, the Autobots have been worried sick about you."

"I know, I just finished talking with them." Sam said, returning the hug. Something in his voice alerted the two former NEST members that something was wrong. "What are you guys doing here? Oh, hello Mrs. Lennox." Sam greeted the woman.

"Call me Sarah Sam, you're family." Sarah smiled, grabbing Sam in a hug. "You've been missed dearly by everyone, the Autobots even more so. As for what we're doing here, well that involves some story telling."

The three older humans dragged the fourth down the hallway to a human sized lunchroom, they were the only ones there. "Everyone else is out doing whatever it is they want to do. Now, I believe we each have answers for each other." Lennox started. "I'll go first. We're here, along with our families, because we're the only humans on the planet that the Cybertronians like and trust because of what we have done for them and with them. When they took over, they offered us citizenship with them, along with a home in their cities. All the NEST members accepted with their families and are living around the world. A few of your old friends also got the deal. Leo, Glen, and Maggie I believe live somewhere in New York I think, haven't spoken to them in a while."

Sam nodded in understand, happy that the Autobots still had some ties with humans that weren't broken because of whatever happened twenty years ago.

"Sam, what happened to you? Where did you go?" Epps asked, eyes concerned. "We looked everywhere, and I mean everywhere. Boss Bot even sent some troops to the moon, the bottom of the ocean, and the most remote places on Earth. The phrase 'leave no stone unturned' was pretty much the motto for years."

The human sighed and told his story once more to the older ones. For over two hours he spoke, leaving only the bits out he left out with the Transformers. "What I can't understand is why they did what they did. They broke my trust, your trust." Sam pointed to Lennox and Epps. "Optimus always said that freedom is the right of everyone, and he and the others took that from humanity. I know that humans aren't slaves or anything, but still…"

"You feel betrayed by them." Lennox said, understanding in his eyes.

"Yeah, I do. They told me a bit on why they did it, but I still feel like they kept something from me." Sam said.

Epps and Lennox exchanged a look, before the former spoke, "Sam, do you know how much the Autobots care for you?"

At the sudden question, Sam paused, "What does that have to do with anything?"

The dark-skinned man just shook his head, chuckling wryly, "Everything Sam. They care more for you than they do any other human, even the old NEST members. And it's not only because you've saved their lives before or saved the planet. There's just something about you that draws them in, makes them want to protect you and keep you safe. Twenty years ago, while the NEST members and your friends didn't treat them as machines or weapons, we weren't as comfortable around them as you were. Primus, I saw you tease Ironhide one day about his cannons, and he just laughed. If it had been anyone else, no one would have dared say something like that to Hide. You treated them as living beings, as your friends and family."

"That is one of the most important things to Cybertronians Sam." Sarah said gently. "Bonds like that, it's part of who they are, the closeness that provides. You are their friend and family and they love you for that."

"Sam, when you disappeared, it's like a part of them died." Epps said softly. "I remember that day, me and Lennox had ran out with the other Bots and with some of NEST. We saw those goons fire at you and that light disappear with you. Each and every one of them made this awful sound, it was so sad…"

"Me and Epps grabbed that sleaze-ball human while the NEST group grabbed his gang, we demanded to know what the hell they were doing. Turns out, they had orders to capture you, but the reason had changed."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, their original orders were to take you in and use you for leverage." Lennox said angrily. "The US government was going to force the Bots to give up their technology to them as well as force them to pretty much be soldiers for hire, to prance around as a show of power. But when they saw you do that crazy stuff with the Matrix, they wanted you to figure out what you could do to see if they could make super soldiers or something."

"Optimus was furious, I had never seen him so mad before." Epps shuddered. "He began barking out orders in Cybertronian before turning to the NEST guys and said 'Are you with us or them?' None of us even thought about it before answering 'You'. We knew what he was asking, if we sided with the Cybertronians or with the government."

"A few days after this, Will came home and told me everything about what had happened." Sarah added. "I understood his choice and began packing at once. I made sure to call the other NEST wives and explained as well to help out. All of us moved onto the base within a week."

"Things kinda snow-balled after that." The former NEST leader said. "Optimus brought back Megatron and the Cons, and made the truce. After that the two of them met with the UN. And now you see the result. Humans are still free to move around, everything that they once did they're free to do. But now the big decisions are made by Optimus and Megatron, along with the rest of the Bots and Cons. They've actually improved several things around the world, everyone gets medical attention now for example and they don't need to pay or have insurance."

"They never stopped looking for you Sam, but they became colder. Losing you nearly destroyed them. They lost you to the humans in charge and the government threatened them one too many times." Epps said softly. "They wanted to make sure it never happened again to them or the ones they cared about."

Sam just sat in silence for a bit, thinking about everything he had been told. A flash of light told him that Blitz had just appeared. "Blitz, you've heard everything. What do you think?" The motorcycle started beeping and chirping radically. "….you're right. As always my friend." Sam turned to the older humans with a small smile. "Thanks for explaining everything to me now, I understand."

"Then what are you sticking around for kid?" Lennox said with a grin.

Sam just laughed before heading out of the room, the laughter of the other humans echoing behind him. Luck seemed to be with Sam as he found everyone gathered in what looked like a rec room, either talking, drinking energon or playing games. Looking around, he found the ones he was looking for. Optimus was speaking softly to four mechs, Ironhide, Ratchet, Bumblebee and Jazz. The five Autobots he was closest too having met them first.

He got their attention by walking in and combining with Blitz. Everyone in the room got quiet as the combined human walked over to the Autobot Leader and his group who were watching him with sad yet confused optics. He surprised them by hugging first Optimus, then the others in turn. Even more confused, they hugged him back, happy for the closeness again.

"I'm sorry for leaving you guys twenty years ago, I never meant to." Sam murmured softly, releasing Bumblebee from his hug and looking them all in the optic. "What happened was explained to me, and I understand. I promise I'll never leave you guys like that again." The silver and gold Transformer smiled at them. "Face it, you guys are stuck with me now."

Energon began leaking out of the five Autobots optics, tears of happiness and relief. They grabbed Sam in a tight hug, clicking and chirping in happiness, feeling their bonds renew and strengthen. Around them, the others watched, smiling in joy for what had happened.

"See? I told you he would forgive you and that there would be some mushy scene." Megatron commented, though his tone was teasing.

Everyone laughed at the Decepticon Leader's words. Sam broke free from the group hug and went over to the warlord. Smirking, he punched the other in the shoulder. "How's that for a welcome back Megatron? Or would you rather I give you a hug too?"

"Boy, you hug me and there will be a hole in the wall shaped just like you." Megatron dead-paned.

"Love you too Megatron." Sam laughed.

Everyone gathered around the ground, just laughing and sharing stories, keeping everything light and joyful. They all got shocked though once Sam mentioned something. "I bet Primus laughed his aft off or is plotting his revenge against me."

"What makes you say that?" Thundercracker asked.

"I called him Gramps before." Sam stated like it was obvious. Wide, shell-shocked optics met his. "What did I say?"

"Are you saying." Ironhide broke out of his stupor first. "That the friend you were with, that trained you, was Primus?!"

"Yeah." Several pops and fizzle sounds greeted the combined humans ears, before several dozens thuds echoed around the room. Every Autobot and Decepticon in the room had fainted. "Maybe I should have broken that to them a little more gently." Sam mused to himself, staring at them all. Suddenly, he grinned. And not just any grin, but one that would scare the crap out the Cons and Bots if they were online and aware. Two words were uttered that made even Primus, who was watching/spying on Sam, shudder in terror and pity the poor sparks that were soon to be victims.

"Prank time."

*Several hours later*

Multiple groans were heard throughout the rec-room as Bots and Cons onlined. "Ugh…what the slag hit me?" Sideswipe groaned.

"Whatever did it, destroy it." Ironhide's muffled voice answered.

Barricade was the first to fully online, and when he did he nearly offlined himself again by laughing so hard. Sunstreaker glared at his friend. "What the frag is wrong with you?"

Still laughing, Barricade just pointed and said "You!" Though he sounded odd when he did it

Glancing down, Sunstreaker blanched at seeing what was done. "What the frag?!"

Everyone, now awake, turned to the golden frontliner….former golden frontliner. He was now a soft grey with streaks of his gold armor shining through. Bee, unable to resist, played 'I've got sunshine, on a cloudy day...'

Glaring, Sunstreaker was about to yell at him but when he got a good look at Bee he started to laugh. "Wow, you're really a bumblebee aren't you?" The scout now sported accessories matching his name.

Everyone started to get good looks at each other, each one laughing or growling, depending on who it was.

Soundwave, the Trine, Ratchet, Sideswipe, and Prowl were all repainted. Soundwave in a Technicolor rainbow, the Trine to look like three of the Power Rangers, Ratchet black and white like a checkerboard, Sideswipe having been repainted to look like a giant Mario, mustache, cap and everything. Prowl was bright, neon….

"WHY THE FRAG AM I PINK?!"

Others though, were suffering from far different pranks, a certain Con was suffering from a modification to his vocal processors, making him sound like Alvin the Chipmunk.

"I AM MEGATRON SLAG IT! STOP LAUGHING AT ME! I'M GOING TO BLAST YOU TO THE FRAGGING PIT!" Though threatening in appearance, the high pitched chipmunk voice just made every Bot and Con who heard it fall into hysterics. Other Bots and Cons suffered similar problems, naming Optimus, Wheelie, Brains, and Barricade. The first sounding exactly like Mario, Wheelie talking like a cowboy, Brains talking in rhyme and Barricade sounding French.

Everyone got a laugh at what happened to Mirage, someone had messed with his cloaking device so only random areas would cloak off and on. Scared them at first when they couldn't see his head but he was walking around.

Others had their hologram generators malfunctioning; making their heads about ten times their normal size, seeing a giant headed Starscream yell was both scary and hilarious. Others had their equilibrium messed with, making them clumsy. Watching Jazz crash into a pink Prowl was priceless; they both ended up laughing with everyone else. And watching Skids and Mudflap walk straight into each other before falling flat on their afts made everyone collapse in laughter.

"Okay, who did this?" Ironhide said, giant head looking around. "You two?"

"No Hide, it ain't us." Skids said, shaking his head.

"Then who pranked…..Samuel!" Megatron roared, or tried to anyway.

*In another part of the base*

Several humans were currently laughing their heads off at the video feed. After Sam had finished his work, he had set up several video cameras around the room to capture everything.

"Sam, you are a genius. I haven't seen any of them laughing like that in years. "Lennox said, wiping his eyes.

"Thank you, thank you. I aim to please." Sam said, grinning.

Sarah shook her head and laughed. "You know they're going to get you back for this."

"Probably, but they'll have to catch me first." Sam smirked then. "Besides, I'm not finished yet. All those pranks will go away in about 3 minutes, the paint was just me messing with a program that creates the color of their armor. Then the real fun begins."

Epps just looked at Sam, awe in his eyes. "You have a death wish, I like it kid." He grinned. "What do you have planned next?"

Sam just smirked, "Watch and see."

Graham, who had arrived earlier and was ecstatic to see Sam again, grinned. "This is going to be good, I can tell."

*With the Bots and Cons*

"That didn't last long at all." Optimus said, back to normal. They all were, voices going back to normal, programs running normal again so all appearances were back to normal as well.

"Yeah…something's not right. That was too fast." Sideswipe said. He and his brother were masters of pranks and they knew when something was up. "There's gonna be more."

"Oh joy." Megatron said, glad his voice was no longer high pitched. "What next?"

Just then Cybertronian sized instruments appeared out of a portal. "What the…?" Thundercracker said. He got quiet though when Optimus, Ironhide, Ratchet, Bee and Jazz when up to the different instruments and picked them up.

*With the humans*

"Call in a favor Sam?" Lennox teased. Sam had briefed him and the others about Primus. They took it better than the Bots and Cons did….marginally. They didn't faint at least.

"Yup. I asked for the instruments, he picked the song." Sam explained. Right then, the five started to play.

"Hey I know that song, it's Livin' on a Prayer." Sarah said. "I love that song."

As the song progressed, the Bots and Cons in the room were cheering, acting like crazed fans.

"Wow Optimus sure can sing." Epps noticed.

"Check out Ratchet on guitar." Sam said.

"…they are so going to get you for this Sam." Graham said sagely.

"Yup."

"Worth it?"

"Definitely." Sam smiled. "I got my best friends and family back, of course it's-"

"SAMUEL JAMES WITWICKY!"

"Worth it." Sam finished sheepishly.

"You know, if you ran now you MIGHT get away."

Sam was already out the door, but he called back, "If I'm still in one piece, see you all later!"  
"Get back here boy!"

Laughter just rang throughout the base in answer, lifting the hearts and sparks of all who heard it.

Primus just looked on, happy and at peace with how things worked out. "Sam must be ready for what lies ahead….but he'll need him, more than what his dimension can give." He smirked, "And I know just who to get to help him out, time for some old friends to return."


End file.
